


Storm

by loveschocolatefrogs



Category: Naruto
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Danzou is still acting Hokage, Eventual Romance, F/M, Haruno Sakura-centric, Redemption, Sakura is basically a missing-nin, Slow Burn, Team Seven needs to get their shit together, where in the world are Naruto's precious people
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-02
Updated: 2018-09-23
Packaged: 2018-12-10 01:25:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 44,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11681115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loveschocolatefrogs/pseuds/loveschocolatefrogs
Summary: After witnessing a failed attempt at Tsunade's life, Sakura is forced to flee Konoha. Three years later, the Fourth Shinobi World War is in full swing. While on the run, she's unexpectedly thrown together with one of the only people who can end Madara.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I'm really enjoying the freedom of AO3 so I've decided to bring over a few of my fics from fanfiction (dot) net. I hope you guys enjoy! I'll post a new chapter weekly until I'm caught up, and from there we'll see how things go. I hope you enjoy!
> 
> xx LCF

It was late when Sakura made her way to Tsunade’s tent.

She’d been released from her rotation a mere handful of minutes ago, and she’d wasted no time in getting back to her mentor.

Most of the villagers and shinobi were in bed by then; everyone exhausted from the slow, but steady, restoration of the village. Pain’s attack had been devastating and had completely obliterated everything. And Sakura just knew that if Tsunade-sama didn’t wake up soon, then there would be more than a few people willing to strike in their moment of weakness. However, as imminent as that threat could be, helping Shizune with Tsunade-sama’s recuperation was her immediate priority.

She made sure that her _shishou_ was stabilized, and that all her vitals were checked every few hours. A switch of an IV here, a little probing with chakra there; and afterwards Sakura would open her medical texts and sit near the futon—reading up on the nervous system to make sure that nothing was wrong with her mentor’s. It was all she could do.

It was all anyone could do, really.

The moment Shizune and she had a chance, they’d immediately gone to work on their dear Hokage and mentor. They healed everything that needed to be, and injected her with several boosters to help with the severe chakra depletion she suffered from.

Despite all this, Tsunade-sama remained in her comatose state, and after it was all said and done, Shizune announced that the only thing left was to let her rest if there was to be any hope for her to regain consciousness. This hadn’t surprised Sakura in the slightest. After all, Tsunade-sama had handed over nearly all of her chakra to Katsuuyu in order to heal all the villagers.

With the state that the village had been reduced to, and with Tsunade-sama out of the picture for the time being, an emergency council meeting was held almost immediately after Naruto had managed to defeat Pain. A vote had taken place to see who would temporarily take the title of Hokage until Tsunade recovered from her comatose state. And to Sakura and Naruto’s dismay, Danzou had been elected—and by the Daimyou, no less. When she’d first heard the news, Sakura couldn’t help but think that there was something seriously wrong if anyone thought that _that_ man was fit enough to be village leader. Hell, even Kakashi-sensei with all his bad habits would have been better suited for office.

Lost in thought, Sakura approached her _shishou’s_ tent. One that matched all the others that currently made up their village. However, before she could reach it, she suddenly paused in her tracks as a sense of unease that caused the hairs at the nape of her neck to stand on end.

Green eyes studied the surrounding forest warily. It was eerily quiet, and not a single sound filled the air. Not even the usual cries of the cicadas that loved to fill the summer evenings with their shrieking songs. All was still, and it put her on edge. Pink brows pulled together in worry as she tried feeling out for the guard; growing fierce when she found no signs of the ANBU. Not even the tiniest flex of their chakra. So where were they?

There had been at least half-a-dozen stationed within the past few days, all going through rotation in pairs as they guarded their fallen Hokage. They’d just switched rotation at midnight, from the missive Shizune had left her not even twenty minutes ago. There was no way she’d get the time wrong. The ANBU guard were nearly as crucial to Tsunade’s survival as she and Shizune were.

Immediately, Sakura went on the defensive. Her gloved hand slipped inside her holster and withdrew two kunai. Something wasn’t right, but before Sakura could come up with any kind of theory, a sudden flare of chakra within Tsunade’s tent caught her attention.

Sprinting, Sakura wrenched open the flap and saw—not her mentor coming to, but a cloaked figure in a bone-white mask hovering above Tsunade’s prone form with a raised kunai, ready to strike down the unconscious woman beneath him.

_Root_ , something whispered in the back of her mind, recalling the small bits of information she’d learned from her time with Tsunade and with Sai. And if Root was here, it was only on Danzou’s orders.

Red invaded Sakura’s vision, and before she could blink, she rushed forward with a surge of chakra and connected the heel of her boot to the side of his skull.

A sickening crack filled the air as she crushed his skull, killing him instantly. But even as the masked nin fell, five more suddenly materialized behind her, forcing her to turn heel and face them down. They attacked without hesitance, but Sakura was quick on her feet, dodging and returning blows as her mind kept track of all of them while simultaneously keeping an eye on her defenseless mentor on the futon. As another operative slipped past her and headed for Tsunade, Sakura flung her kunai at him, but missed when he teleported out of range.

Swinging back around, Sakura didn’t waste a second in unleashing more weapons at the remaining nin.

A wave of senbon cascaded towards Tsunade from Sakura’s right, and she dove into the line of fire, ignoring the tiny bursts of pain that exploded along her arms as they embedded themselves into her skin. Sakura quickly leapt out of range and yanked the offending weapons out of her limbs before she rushed them and aimed a kick right at the center of their group, successfully dispersing them.

The Root members vanished in a blur, and without a moment’s hesitation, she sprinted from the tent and wove a complex jutsu around it to keep her mentor hidden. No one but Kakashi would be able to discover it. She also threw a kunai with an explosive tag wrapped around the handle at a tree several meters from the campsite. It would detonate in ninety seconds, alerting anyone within fifty yards of danger.

With that reassuring thought in mind, Sakura headed east, hoping to draw out Tsunade’s attackers that were sure to be waiting in the wings. She wasn’t disappointed, and soon enough several Root shadowed her movements as wave after wave of weapons came at her. Sakura leapt from branch to branch at random, hoping to shake them off and guiding them as far from her _shishou_ as she could and closer instead to where she knew her fellow shinobi would be.

As she neared an open field however, something blunt struck her back with incredible force and sent her careening. A gloved hand shot out and took hold of a protruding branch of a small tree, using her momentum to swing herself back around. She focused her chakra, and in the next second uprooted it before launching it at them. The masked nin scattered once again, but before she could take a breath, one was upon her. Sakura pushed off against the ground and flew straight towards her assailant, landing a chakra-charged fist on his chest that left him crumpled on the ground.

Panting heavily as she took cover, a blast rang clear through the air and Sakura began to feel the beginnings of fatigue stir in her system. But as tired as she was, there was no helping the fury that raged in her heart, because these men, _Danzou’s_ _men_ , had made an attempt on Tsunade-sama’s life.

White-hot rage filled her anew and she clenched her jaw severely before a wave of vertigo settled over her, causing Sakura to lose her footing and stumble. She looked down at the punctures on her arms, taking note of the angry red ring that surrounded the jabs.

_Poison_ , she thought grimly before she began to rummage through her medical kit for something to stave off the effects. Sakura recognized the symptoms of the poison, and while it wasn't lethal, it did tend to leave those afflicted with it immobile. It would wear off after several hours, but she didn’t have that kind of time.

Her gloved fingers found one of her remaining syringes from the day and pulled it out, revealing the translucent blue liquid that indicated it was a chakra booster. She slammed it into her thigh, wasting no time in plunging the liquid into her veins. It wouldn’t heal her, but it would help mitigate the quick-acting poison that had covered the senbon and give her a little more time. But even as the numbing sensation began to fill her body, nothing was capable of putting out the flames of her ire.

When she was younger, Sakura had found it difficult to kill. But now, nearly a year after that fight—the one with Chiyo-obaa-sama against Sasori of the Red Sand. The one that had showed her what a true battle between seasoned combat veterans was… That she had needed to kill or be killed—well, Sakura had not only grown as a medic, but as an exceptional kunoichi of Konoha, the Village Hidden in the Leaves. The very same village that Sasuke-kun had left, that Naruto vowed to protect, and that Danzo pulled further into the shadows with his actions as Hokage.

It was the last straw, and in a fit of rage, Sakura’s temper exploded forth.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she yelled, the cold tone of her voice unfamiliar to even her own ears. “I thought we were supposed to be on the same side!”

None of the Root replied, her words wasted on deaf ears. After a second, Sakura leapt from her hiding spot to find the squadron that pursued her halted in the middle of the small clearing. Half a second passed before the squad leader broke their silence. His voice was muffled and had that same hollow tone that Sai used to have, but rang clearly in the quiet air.

“You have seen too much. It is for the sake of Danzou-sama and Konoha that we must eliminate you.”

“You think that killing me will help Konoha?” Sakura bit back, raising her voice to a yell in hopes that any of the jonin on patrol would hear her. “That assassinating the rightful Hokage will help?”

She could already feel the stirring of chakra from afar and knew that the explosive tag had worked as intended. All she needed was to draw more of their forces out and guide this platoon as close to the jonin camp as she could.

“Danzou-sama is Hokage, and all decisions he makes are for the sake of the village. He is like you. He wants to restore Konoha to its former glory… and bring forth a new era.”

Sakura couldn’t help the derisive laugh that escaped her. “Danzou is a warmonger! He doesn’t care about Konoha. All he wants is to create more chaos than there already is. Do you think that killing Tsunade-sama would bring stability to the village? If anything it’ll go into an uproar! Civil war will break out and it will become a bloodbath.”

The Root remained at a stand-still. “Our duty is to Danzou-sama. All that he wishes to be done, shall. Because of this, Haruno Sakura, you are deemed a threat to our mission and must be taken into custody or taken out—.”

Before he could finish, Sakura hurled a handful of kunai laced with explosive tags at the platoon. She focused her chakra and detonated them just as they fell into range. The force of the blast blew her back, and she quickly shook out the ringing in her ears as she looked up to see the squadron gone, though not without casualties.

_There. If that doesn’t catch anyone’s attention, I don’t know what will._ She thought.

But just as she started to turn on her heel to leave, she felt several more chakra signatures swiftly approaching the area. As they neared, Sakura could make out a few of them in the distance and saw that they were all Root members.

_Maybe that wasn’t such a great idea after all._

Soon she was bombarded by attacks as they swarmed her on all sides, and it was all she could do to keep from getting caught. She pressed herself further and continued running east, hoping to lose them as she went. But as she ran, her movement grew more sluggish and her thoughts no longer flowed in a coherent stream.

_The poison must be eating through the booster quickly._ She slowly realized.

Quickly, Sakura searched for another injection and felt a surge of relief as her fingers wrapped around a second vial. She slammed the second one down, relishing in the rush of chakra that surged through her like a wildfire. Her relief was short-lived, however, as the Root members were gaining quickly. With her boost, she was able to continue to stay just out of their range, and with a surprising swiftness, found herself facing the sea from the top of a jagged cliff.

She came up short just before the ledge, and when she turned, she saw Danzou’s operatives circling her like a predator that had cornered its prey. She’d been unknowingly corralled to this specific location.

Sakura was trapped, and she knew it.

But she’d be damned if she allowed herself to be caught and dragged into whatever hell Danzou had planned for her. The last of her explosive tags had been used to alert her fellow shinobi of the attack, her teammates had no idea where she was, and there was no possibility for back-up. To make matters worse, she could feel the effects of the booster wearing off, leaving her panting heavily and almost completely drained of energy. Her arms throbbed as the poison worked itself through her system, and she needed to get away if she had any hope of surviving this encounter.

With little thought, Sakura decided on the lesser of two evils. Before the Root members could realize what she was doing, Sakura flung herself from the edge of the cliff and into the raging sea below.

Searing pain enveloped her as their projectiles embedded themselves into her back, and the last coherent thought she had before she hit the water was how she hoped it didn’t hurt as much as it looked like it would. When the icy water finally greeted her, the air rushed from her lungs and an all-encompassing darkness pulled her under.

Haruno Sakura disappeared beneath the raging waters of the sea, and never resurfaced.


	2. Forces of Destiny

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was a few days late. Whoopsie. Thank you all for the kudos! I hope you enjoy!
> 
> xx LCF

Night had fallen, and the sky was illuminated with the thunderstorms for which the Land of Lightning was renown. Winds howled as hot air rose from the many hot springs that littered the country. The rising heat met the cold gales that blew down from the mountains, and the clash of two extremes sent bouts of rolling thunder to chase after the brilliant flashes of lightning.

Being the big nature admirer that she was, Sakura, sat relaxed on the bough of a tree as her transformed gray eyes watched the sky with rapt attention.

The vast mountain ranges of Lightning Country were truly as grand as they had been described to be in the textbooks she’d read throughout her time in the Academy. They towered high into the sky; their peaks disappearing into a sea of clouds while rivers flowed and cut through their valleys. All of them led to an ocean that was unlike any other that Sakura had ever seen. Though technically it was the same as the one in the Land of Fire; it was the remote area of the peninsula and its jagged coastlines that gave it its impressive beauty. Where Fire Country’s coast was full of lush vegetation and white sand, in Lightning Country the waters raged and brimmed with life as beaches of black sand and treacherous cliff sides stretched for miles.

If Sakura had attempted to jump from cliffs like these into a sea like the one before her…

Well, she wouldn’t have survived the encounter.

At the thought, pale hands ran over the tops of her arms, soothing the phantom pain that took her back to a time where she’d woken up, vulnerable and alone, on some beach far from Konoha.

Three years had passed since she’d washed up on that beach. Three years since she’d left Konoha--or what remained of it, at least. She had no idea what was now happening behind those gates, or if they’d even rebuilt them, and knowing so left a constant ache in her heart.

She still thought of everyone on a daily basis. Of her friends, her family, and her comrades. How tall was Naruto now? Had he given a reply to Hinata’s confession? Did Kakashi-sensei still read his porn in public and show up notoriously late? Or had Danzou’s regime whipped him out of it? And what of Sai? Was he working more closely with Root now? Was Yamato-taichou still involved in the goings-on of Team Kakashi?

And what of Tsunade-sama? Had Danzou succeeded in taking her life?

Sakura shook her head fiercely.

No. Even if he had sent out battalions at a time to get rid of her, Sakura _knew_ that the shinobi loyal to her would not stand for it. She was alive. Sakura was sure of it.

A sudden clap of thunder pulled Sakura from her thoughts, as the rain began to fall steadily. Cursing herself for losing track of time, Sakura pulled her grey traveling cloak more tightly around her shoulders before double-checking that the transformation jutsu she’d placed on herself several hours ago was still intact.

She’d taken to altering her appearance every single day since her features were a dead-giveaway to her identity. Her pink hair was the most vital part of her change as it was her most distinctive trait. She dyed it the beginning so she could continue saving up chakra for her Seal of One Hundred, but after several close calls with hunter-nin, she’d had to forgo gathering it considering having full access to her reserves was more vital to her survival. But it had been several weeks since she’d stopped into a proper village, and the copper dye was almost completely faded from her hair, so she had to make do with using a henge for the past few days. It was risky, because if her control slipped for a second, she’d be discovered, but it helped in a pinch and allowed her to make even more changes to her person.

Today she opted to keep her hair shorter than how she used to wear it, with the ends resting just below her ears in wavy disarray. Her eyes were now more almond-shaped with the same gray shade as Kakashi-sensei’s, and her complexion was far paler than usual. She’d also made a few subtle changes to her facial features. Her face was now more narrow, her lips a tad bit thinner, and she’d refined the tip of her nose into something sharper and more angular. It wasn’t much, but in the past she’d been able to keep from being detected with far less.

Satisfied, Sakura jumped down from her perch and began to make her way southwest. She was a two day’s run from Kumo, and she wanted to get out of Lightning Country and into the neutral territories that were nestled between what was formerly Sound, Fire, and Waterfall by the end of the week.

After making sure that her pack sat securely on her back, she streaked through the forest, intent on traveling through the rain in the hopes of reaching her destination a little sooner.

 

* * *

 

It was the large flux of chakra that made her slow her run. She’d been tree-hopping for hours now, just on the border between Land of Lightning and Land of Frost. The rain had let up long ago, allowing the setting sun to peek through the desolate clouds and paint the sky blood-red. It was eerie, and Sakura ignored the unease that inexplicably settled into the pit of her stomach.

She continued forward, with her steps slow and senses on high alert as she leapt from branch to branch with caution. She hadn’t travelled a kilometer when she heard it: the sounds of battle and the familiar shriek of metal clashing against metal. Making sure her chakra was masked, Sakura pressed closer. Her guard never dropping as she crept towards several branches that were clustered together thickly, providing a perfect hiding spot for her to survey the scene.

Below her, between all the debris and the clouds of smoke and dirt that hung thickly in the air, Sakura could barely make out vague silhouettes of the shinobi in combat. Metal rang against metal as obscenities flew from one side to the other. The sudden charges of chakra exuded in the jutsu they executed forced the tiny hairs on the back of her arms to stand on end. There was a sudden cry of pain, and subconsciously, Sakura edged closer to get a better look.

The sight that greeted her sent her heart pounding.

It was obvious that the two figures were male; one stood tall, his chest broad and heaving with a head of copper hair sent in spikes. Beside him stood a shorter male, whose choppy white strands brushed the tops of his shoulders, there was a hefty blade that was strapped to his back.

Usually, coming upon other missing-nin wouldn’t have triggered such a response in her, but the red clouds stitched onto their black cloaks certainly did.

Reflexively, Sakura drew a kunai and slowly crept away from the scene. Her heart beat wildly in her chest as she silently pushed off the branch and began to put as much distance between them and her as quickly as possible. But as she ran, a bloody figure suddenly toppled onto the branch she was going to land on.

The ANBU’s mask (Kumo, by the look of it) was cracked and his uniform was damaged beyond repair. He laid immobile on the branch save for the harsh, wet breaths he drew. Gloved hands put pressure on the gaping hole in his chest. From the state of his breathing, Sakura knew immediately that blood must have flooded his lungs. That coupled with the injury, made her doubt if he’d survive the next five minutes.

She wanted to so badly turn on her heel and continue her escape, but the man’s wheezing breaths kept her rooted to the tree branch.

 _Don’t do it, Sak._ She chided herself. _If you try to help him you run the risk of those Akatsuki discovering your presence and where will that leave you?_

But even as the thought crossed her mind, she knew what she would do. She’d never be able to forgive herself if she walked away knowing that there was something she could do to help. The oath she took when she became a medic was the only part of her old life she’d allowed herself to keep.

 _I will maintain the utmost respect for human life_ …

She could practically _hear_ Tsunade-sama’s voice.

Cursing herself, Sakura double-checked her henge before she leapt onto the branch where the ANBU laid. A hand hovered over her kunai holster as she peered down at the masked-nin, all-too aware that not far from her were two of the Akatsuki. The ANBU let out several wet, hacking coughs that sent his body into convulsions. Immediately Sakura’s medical instincts kicked in.

She quickly wrenched off his mask to aid his breathing and summoned healing chakra to her free hand. Pulling away the hands that kept pressure on his wound, Sakura pressed the glowing appendage to his chest to assess the damage. The man beneath her flinched at the sudden intrusion of foreign chakra, but seemed to rouse him slightly. His eyes cracked open for a brief second before another coughing fit overcame him. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth as his heart beat erratically in his chest.

It was over in the next second as his heart stuttered to a stop, and there was nothing Sakura could do. If she tried restarting the organ, he’d bleed out; and healing his wound before restarting his heart would take up too much time. She wouldn’t have been able to heal it and administer CPR before brain damage occurred from lack of oxygen.

Regret washed over her, and after a moment, Sakura swept a hand over his eyes to shut them for the last time. She stood to leave, when the sudden whistle of metal flying through air caught her ears. Instinctively she dove, her head whipping around a beat later to see several kunai embedded in the tree where she’d been standing just seconds ago.

She leapt back as she pulled out the kunai, transformed gray eyes looking to her assailant and her entire body froze when she saw the complete squadron of Kumo ANBU standing several yards away from her.

“It seems that you’ve been the one causing problems for us in the area, kunoichi. And here we thought Akatsuki was at fault.” The captain spoke.

At his words, Sakura shook off her surprise and stood her ground with her chin raised defiantly. “I’ve done nothing, I was merely passing through the area when your comrade fell before me.”

“It’s difficult to believe such a statement when you’ve got blood of our own all over you.”

Gray eyes flicked down and caught sight of the red stains that were smeared on her torso and stained the edge of her cloak. She mentally damned her compassionate nature before she braced herself. There was only one way out of this, and it wasn’t going to be pretty.

The squadron disappeared in an instant, and in the next, Sakura was deflecting a rain of senbon and kunai. She rushed the closest ANBU to her, fist raised and with chakra surging through her arm. The moment her fist connected with his mask, it exploded in a thousand ivory shards and he was sent careening off the tree and plummeted to the ground below.

Sakura was fluid in her movements as she dodged airborne weapons and twisted through the air in order to strike down her next attacker. But as good as she was, these were hunter-nin—the most ruthless of ANBU, and the fact that they thought she’d attacked one of their own made their attacks ruthless. Sakura deftly avoided a punch before she wrapped her hand around her attacker’s outstretched arm and flung him over her shoulder and into another that tried coming at her from her unprotected flank.

_Three down, one to go._

She kept her gaze trained on captain as she took in his movements. From the corner of her eye, she saw the two she’d sent flying recover from her throw and return to their squad leader’s side. She recognized their formation as one that aimed to corral their opponent.

Unwilling to let herself fall into a far more precarious situation, Sakura released the chakra on the soles of her feet that allowed her to stand upright on the tree and slipped between the branches and onto the ground. The moment her feet touched down, she leapt back to narrowly avoid the kunai of the previous nin whose mask she destroyed. That was all the time needed for the remainder of the squad to reach her. They were upon her in an instant.

As Sakura blocked an incoming kick with her forearm, she managed to land a back kick to an approaching ANBU’s chest before ducking down into a crouch, barely missing the airborne kunai aimed for the back of her head. Another ANBU was immediately upon her, his heel clipping her with a hidden blade and leaving a searing trail of fire in its wake. She stumbled back a few steps, making sure to keep them all in her line of sight before she pulled away the hand that had immediately pressed against her side. It came away bloody. Taking a ragged breath, the world began to tilt on its axis as Sakura immediately recognized the symptoms of poisoning.

 _Not again_ , she griped. _You’d think Black Ops would learn new parlor tricks._

It’d been so long since she’d dealt with this particular poison, and while she didn’t have the remedy for it, Sakura did have her medical prowess, and she knew this was similar to the one Root had jabbed her with three years ago. It was non-lethal, but a hindrance, and would inevitably lead to her capture if she didn’t do something. Fortunately for her, Sakura hadn’t spent those three years on the run twiddling her thumbs. She’d pushed herself and her medical knowledge to the limit, creating several new medical ninjutsu that tested out various theories she had. What she was about to do being one of them.

Summoning more chakra, Sakura regulated it to her kidneys with the hopes that it would help process the toxins out of her body faster. It wasn’t as fast-acting as she would like and the chakra drain put her at a disadvantage. She had no choice but to finish this quickly if there was any hope of her escaping.

The only solution was for her to take them out in one hit but the prospect of blowing her cover weighed heavily on her mind. She had taken so many precautions to ensure that her name never surfaced in the shinobi world. Made sure that any rumors of Haruno Sakura remained just that, rumors. And when any of Danzou’s men or foreign ANBU chanced upon her, they were oftentimes found dead. But as the Fourth Great Shinobi War was waged and continued to rage on several years after the fact, the searches for her had grown fewer and farther in between.

Before Sakura could come to terms with her decision, the lead ANBU rushed forward in a flurry of kicks and punches, forcing her to back up at his approach. She was caught unawares by the remainder of the squad, and before she could counter their attacks, two ANBU had her pinned face down onto the ground. Their squad leader stood before her, armored arms crossed over his chest as his blank mask looked upon her.

“Now, kunoichi, you won’t be a nuisance any longer.” he said as he drew his katana from the sheath on his back.

Sakura’s transformed eyes narrowed in determination. She channeled chakra to her arms, and in one swift motion, effectively threw off her assailants, making sure to send one crashing into his squad leader. The three flew back and gave her an opening to escape, but just as she was about to make a run for it, she caught the flux of chakra from the forgotten fourth member a moment too late.

 _Damn it!_ She cursed as a hand shot out form the ground at her feet. _Headhunter jutsu._

As she was being pulled down, Sakura cocked back her fist and let a chakra-laced punch fly towards the ground. The earth shattered upon impact, revealing the previous ANBU whose mask she shattered. Wrenching her ankle from his grasp, Sakura swung her heel down on his head in a fierce axe kick that the unknown nin managed to dodge. Before she could follow up, the shinobi reentered striking range.

Sakura registered his uppercut just a half-second too late.

Stars exploded in her vision as his fist connected with the underside of her chin. The follow-through forcing her head to snap back and her teeth to click together painfully. His other hand came up in a flash, the metal of his kunai glinting in the sun before she felt the sharp sting of its edge pressed against her neck.

Still reeling from the blow, Sakura barely registered the blurs of red and black that suddenly fell from the treetops and into the clearing before she fell into unconsciousness.

 

* * *

 

The last of the ANBU fell to the ground with a quiet thud just as Suigetsu and Juugo relaxed their stances. Breathing deeply, Suigetsu frowned severely at the sight before him before he turned to address Juugo, only to find the other man’s attention enraptured by the girl that laid crumpled on the forest floor. The former Mist-nin was a bit miffed. His violet eyes burned holes into the back of Juugo’s head as the giant man quietly made his way over to the unconscious kunoichi.

Nevermind the fact that they wouldn’t be in the clearing standing amidst a slaughtered squadron of ANBU if it wasn’t for the fact that Suigetsu couldn’t leave things well enough alone.

It had been he, not Juugo, that had taken notice of the chakra that suddenly raged a few kilometers from where their own fight had just ended. And it had been at his own insistence that they'd gone to see who it was and decide whether or not it was a fight worth getting into or not. Juugo had merely responded with a nod, used to entertaining his whims by now, and so they’d masked their chakra and made their way over to the latest brawl.

The parts of Lightning Country that they’d been traveling through over the past few days were rough. Bandits, nuke-nin, and mobs lurked everywhere; though it was hard to be intimidated when more often than not, you’re one of the monsters from the stories that the country folk used to scare their children into behaving.

The group that he and Juugo had disposed of earlier were a pathetic bunch of bandits that had most likely failed out of their shinobi training but were talented enough to wreak havoc on the small villages that dusted the countryside. Not that their meager bit of training did them any good; they’d been cut down just the same. Which was a pity, considering he’d wanted more of a challenge.

Regardless, he was sure that it had been their fight that had lured out one of Kumo’s ANBU, and given Taka’s fearless leader’s propensity for wiping out anything that endangered his endgame, Suigetsu took it upon himself to dispose of their uninvited guest. The ANBU had managed to get away before he could deliver the final blow, but the former Mist-nin had been confident in his abilities wielding the throat cleaver. Suigetsu had taken a good chunk out of the hunter-nin before he’d taken off. He would have bled out within minutes, if not seconds.

Pulled from his musing, he walked over to Juugo, who knelt over the girl. The quiet man unfastened his cloak and set it over her in a bad pantomime of a blanket. A tent would have been a more appropriate way to describe how it dwarfed her tiny form. A frown pulled at his lips as he studied the girl. She was nothing special, probably fourteen or fifteen; her hair was cropped ridiculously short, but her face was unmistakable in its femininity. She was a petite thing, and lacked any indication of having hit puberty.

 _Practically a kid_ , his mind supplied.

Suigetsu released a sigh as he plopped down next to Juugo, his violet eyes watching the man’s large hands as they gently turned the girl over to examine the injuries she’d managed to get from her run-in with Kumo’s ANBU.

The gash along her side was ragged and deep, blood seeped steadily from it and coated Juugo’s hands. The former Mist-nin felt a tiny pang of sympathy for the kid. He’d slipped up enough times, wasn’t fast enough enough times, to know that taking a kunai was no easy feat. Seriously, she’d had to have a surreal tolerance for pain because they hadn’t even heard her scream when she’d been hit—and they’d certainly been close enough to hear that.

After a few more seconds of examination, Juugo rewrapped her in his cloak before turning to face him with a determined set to his jaw that Suigetsu didn’t like.

“We need to take her somewhere safe and watch over her for a few days.”

Oh _hell_ no.

Suigetsu blanched. “Are you kidding me? Why can’t we just dump her at a nearby village. I’m sure there’ll be _someone_ willing to patch up an injured kid.”

“The nearest village is a two-day run from here, and she wouldn’t have been caught by ANBU if it hadn’t been for your need to sate your bloodlust by taking on a band of petty thieves. The ANBU scout you let get away most likely called for reinforcements and she must have been caught in the crossfire.”

“This is _war_ , Juugo. There’s always going to be innocents suffering for it.” Suigetsu bit back.

“Nevertheless, I will not allow her to perish because of something that could have been prevented. The fact of the matter is that ANBU wouldn’t have come upon her if it hadn’t been for us making a disturbance by taking out the bandits.” Juugo replied with finality. “It would be best if we regrouped with the others before she awakens.”

With that, he carefully picked upon the unconscious kunoichi and started his way back to their designated rendezvous point.

Suigetsu for his part, rolled his violet eyes at the large shinobi before following after him. He was going to be in for it once they met up with the others; there was no way around it. It didn’t matter that it was all Juugo’s idea, because even if he thoroughly voiced that he had no part in Juugo’s decision to bring back a stray, there was no saving him from the harpy that was Karin and the screeching that was sure to follow. And as for their leader? There was no telling what he’d do given his extremely low tolerance for their shit. But one thing was for sure...

Sasuke was going to be _pissed._


	3. Fallen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the kudos and sweet comments! I'm late with this upload due to real life taking precedence, thankfully it's all cleared up now.
> 
> I hope you enjoy!
> 
> xx LCF

The nothingness that engulfed Sakura was broken by the sound of rushing water and crackling wood, punctuated by two bickering voices that were steadily gaining volume. Cracking her eyes open, the darkness gave way to the hazy images of a steady fire and distorted shadows that danced on stone walls. As Sakura began to regain her senses, the world suddenly spun violently, and she closed her eyes tightly to keep from getting nauseous.

In this state, her hearing picked up despite the heavy pounding in her skull, allowing her to catch bits and pieces of a conversation taking place a few feet from where she rested on the ground.

“You imbeciles, look what you’ve done this time! I can’t believe the two of you would think to bring her here!” Hissed one voice furiously. Despite the rough quality of tone, it was unmistakably female.

Another voice broke in, this one much deeper and obviously annoyed. “Don’t drag me into this! This was all Juugo’s idea. I told him to leave her, but no, he just _had_ to bring her here and make sure she’d live through the night.”

“If you were so concerned about her life then why didn’t you dump her at a nearby village?” the girl snapped.

“That’s what _I_ told him, he’s the one who insisted on bringing her.” The other voice retorted.

A frustrated cry left the girl’s mouth. “ _Shut up_ , Suigetsu! I wasn’t talking to you!”

Having heard enough, Sakura peeked through her lashes and was glad to see that the world finally stopped spinning. However, that relief was short-lived when she took note of _who_ exactly she was with.

A knot settled in her throat when she caught sight of the white-haired Akatsuki from before as he bickered with a red-haired girl wearing the same black cloak he did. The kunoichi shoved her glasses up her nose rather roughly before she placed a hand on her cocked hip and quite literally looked down her nose at the other Akatsuki member, the giant one with the orange hair, that sat a few feet away and paid her no mind. There was a beat of silence followed by an irritated huff.

"You’re lucky that he’s not here right now. If he knew that you two brought back some injured kid, he’d have killed you both. Not that you idiots don’t deserve it.”

The white-haired male frowned at her. “How many damn times do I have to say that it was _Juugo_ ’ _s_ idea?!”

The girl let out what could only be called a growl of frustration. She was really starting to grate on Sakura’s nerves. “It doesn’t matter whose idea it was! She’s here, and she shouldn’t be and he’ll have all our asses because of it!”

The man, who Sakura presumed to be Suigetsu, looked like he was ready to retort before his violet eyes fell on their seated comrade. He seemed to think better than to keep up their bickering, and instead pressed on in a new direction.

“Where’d he go off to, anyway?”

The girl looked over at him with ill-concealed impatience. “He said there was business he needed to take care of. He should be back either tonight or tomorrow night at the latest; but we’ll keep moving if he doesn’t return within that time frame. He’ll find us when he’s finished whatever it is he’s planning, and if not I can always locate him once we’ve set up camp.”

“Who made _you_ boss?” Suigetsu snorted.

The kunoichi visibly bristled at the comment before she bit back.

“ _He_ did, so if you’ve got a problem with that then you can take it up with him when he comes back.” And as an afterthought she added, “—And I’m telling you now, I won’t be healing your little pet and I _definitely_ won’t be taking responsibility for her if he returns and she’s still here. You two take care of her and get her gone as quickly as possible and we’ll act like this never happened.”

“Thank you,” Came a third voice, one that had not joined Suigetsu and the kunoichi’s argument. The one Suigetsu had called Juugo, and the reason she was alive.

“Whatever, just mind your mouths. She’s awake.” The kunoichi spat out as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Sakura suddenly felt the weight of three pairs of eyes settle on her at the statement, and was surprised that the kunoichi was able to detect her state of consciousness. She had been regulating her chakra steadily in the hopes of not alerting them of her coming to, but it seemed that the kunoichi was an exceptional sensory and had seen straight through her ploy, though thankfully hadn’t managed to detect the transformation jutsu that was still blessedly active.

Sakura would have to be careful around her.

Giving up her pretense at being caught, Sakura opened her eyes fully to meet the Akatsuki members head-on. She shifted slightly under their impenetrable stares, and winced when a sudden jolt of pain coursed through her. Sakura stilled and watched warily as the large male stood from where he was sitting and walked over to where she lay.

“I advise you not to move too much, kunoichi-san. You were gravely injured when my teammate and I found you.”

His tone was gentle and slightly soothing. Like how one would speak when they approached a frightened animal that had been cornered with no means of escape. Which was a very apt description of the situation that Sakura found herself in. The man, Juugo, moved slightly, and she braced herself for the worst, but was surprised when he merely withdrew a canteen from the depths of his cloak and held it out towards her. His head tilted slightly to the side as though asking for permission.

Sakura swallowed thickly as she tried to ignore how parched her throat was.

She eyed him warily, her transformed eyes continued to flicker between the proffered canteen and his face in an attempt to gouge his intentions. There was no way for her to know that the water hadn’t been spiked, and no way for her to truly know his intentions at face value. But despite her wariness, her acknowledging the dull ache in her throat brought back her desperate thirst.

Sakura swallowed thickly.

The Akatsuki seemed to notice this and moved the canteen a little closer to her lips before Sakura pressed them together tightly.

“Just take a drink. If you’re going to be safe with anyone around here, it’s Juugo. He’s the one that saved your ass from becoming vulture fodder. It wouldn’t make much sense if he killed you now.” The white-haired man called out.

Sakura glanced at the smaller male as he shot her a pointed-toothed grin.

Her gaze slowly traveled back to Juugo as he continued holding out the canteen to her with an almost hopeful look on his face. It could have been a trap or a ploy to make her gain a false sense of security, but she also had to think about how if there was any chance for her to escape, it wouldn’t happen if she was stuck bedridden due to dehydration.

After a few more moments of debating with herself, her thirst and practicality won over her trepidation, and with a sigh of defeat, Sakura slowly made to sit up. She shifted slightly on what she recognized to be a sleeping bag, and was immediately flooded by another bout of searing pain as it bloomed on her side. She locked her jaw to keep from crying out, determined not to give anyone the satisfaction of knowing that at the moment she truly was vulnerable. Not that they thought otherwise of her, anyway.

A large hand slowly reached out and rested gently on her shoulder as he propped her up slightly, making the blanket that had been tucked under her chin to slide down her torso. Juugo’s other hand came up as he lifted the canteen to her mouth. After a moment of hesitation, Sakura tilted her head back slightly and allowed him to place the canteen between her lips. The cool water was like heaving in her parched mouth, and in her relief, Sakura briefly forgot her surroundings and chugged the water greedily. Once her thirst was momentarily quenched, she kept still as Juugo gently placed her back down on the sleeping bag. Just as Sakura was about to thank him, she caught a glimpse of her exposed torso.

Blotches of purples, blues, and sickly yellows danced across her skin like a macabre painting. Out of habit, she directed her chakra to her wounds to asses the damage, and was surprised to find that it didn’t bend to her will as it normally did. Immediately, Sakura’s eyes flew to the redhead who currently looked down her nose at her. Her lips were pulled down in distaste, as though she couldn’t stand to even be in her presence. Sakura’s own face glowered back as she briefly wondered how she’d failed to take note of the girl’s chakra interfering with her own.

She’d have to be exceptionally careful with the sensor, indeed.

“I’ve sealed your chakra. You won’t be able to access it until I say so.” She snarked.

A tense moment passed between the two kunoichi before a rough bark of laughter pulled Sakura out of her thoughts.

“Don’t be such a bitch, Karin. She’s just a kid. Besides, I don’t think Juugo would appreciate it if you mistreated his guest.” Suigetsu ribbed.

Karin scowled. “I don’t remember asking for your opinion, Fish Face.”

Sakura remained still, her eyes glued to the figures before her. There was no doubt in her mind that they were Akatsuki, but of all the members she’d had the misfortune to come across before this, they were decidedly the most unconventional of the bunch. Still, unconventional or not, they were deadly.

She fought the urge to let out a cynical laugh at the thought. It really seemed like there was a greater force that was out to get her considering all the abysmal things she’d had to go through concerning the last three years of her life. As if Danzou forcing her away from her home, living her life on the run, and practically being declared an enemy to her own village with every Root agent she took out wasn’t bad enough. She just had to go and run into not one, but _three_ Akatsuki members all at once. A trio that would turn into a quartet within the span of twenty-four hours.

_Fantastic_ , Sakura grumped.

Despite trying to remain calm and keep her head, Sakura could feel a heavy dose of trepidation begin to seep into her system. She was alone in the middle of nowhere with absolutely no chakra at her disposal. There was just enough regulating in her system to keep up her henge, but if she tried to use that little bit, her transformation would unravel and she’d be exposed, and that most definitely was _not_ an option.

Sakura wasn’t a fool. She kept herself up-to-date with all the goings-on in the shinobi world. She knew that only weeks after her forced defection, Akatsuki had waged war against the Five Great Shinobi Nations when they refused to hand over the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails. It was common knowledge no matter where she traveled. But what most didn’t know, was that the news both saddened and relieved her. Because while war was never something to be relished, to her it mean that Naruto was still safe.

Now Akatsuki had her in their grasp, and if they suspected her to be anything other than a young kunoichi caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, it would all but spell her friend’s doom. Because once news of her resurfacing reached Naruto, there would be nothing to stop him from coming after her--especially if he knew she was caught in Akatsuki’s clutches. Sakura had no doubt that they’d use her as bait to lure him out, especially considering that _Sasuke_ was now amongst their ranks.

If her true identity were to be revealed, he could easily contribute his knowledge of their bond. Whether he would include himself in those tales from their youth remained a mystery, but the thought left a bitter taste in Sakura’s mouth.

She was so caught up in her musings that she failed to notice Juugo approach her once more, this time with a roll of bandages in hand. She frowned when she caught sight of him, not at all comfortable with what she knew he wished to do. Apparently the tall Akatsuki member could read people very well, as he began to talk once more in quiet tones to try and soothe her steadily rising anxiety and anger.

“You won’t be able to move for a while, kunoichi-san. Especially now that my teammate has made it clear that she will not heal you. Allow me to help you until you are once again able to move freely on your own.”

Sakura watched Juugo for a long moment with a critical eye. There was nothing sinister about his gentle gaze at all. In fact, he seemed genuinely worried as he cast her side several furtive glances while he waited for her acquiescence. The growing possibility of his sincerity not being an elaborate set up was not as far off as she hoped it to be.

“How bad is it?” she asked after a terse moment.

The other two Akatsuki looked at her, surprised, as though they hadn’t expected her to speak. And she hadn’t wanted to, but after being a medic for so long, and knowing that this was quite possibly the _worst_ place to catch an infection, made her speak up. She would not cripple herself and her chances of escaping.

“Your abdomen is heavily bruised, and you have a long gash on your right side which has yet to be properly mended. I managed to stop the bleeding, but if you move too suddenly I’m sure that what little that’s healed on its own would most likely reopen.”

Sakura frowned pensively as she took in his information. It wasn’t a bad diagnosis, but it wasn’t incredibly descriptive either. There were other kinds of complications that could have started to develop during her unconscious state that one who wasn’t well-versed in medical ninjutsu could have easily overlooked. Judging from how each breath she took was punctuated with a sharp pain, Sakura was willing to bet a few of her ribs were at least cracked. The burning of her inflamed side was most likely a symptom of the infection she was sure had found residence in the laceration. She looked up at Juugo, who had situated himself beside her before he gently pulled back the cloak that covered her and revealed her naked torso. Well, naked save for the bindings on her breasts and her injuries.

She was wrapped in several linen bandages, the corners of the gauze had been placed on the most serious parts of her injuries peeked out from under the layers. The spots of dried blood on the wrappings themselves were few, which indicated that her bandages had been changed at least once while she’d been unconscious. Sakura tried to ignore the small knot that formed in her throat at the thought of being so vulnerable in their presence.

She was once again pulled from her thoughts when Juugo’s steady hands came to her shoulders once more as he gently sat her up. One hand easily kept her balanced while the other pulled the end of the bandage that had been tucked into one of the many folds. He unwound it with the kind of precision that came from experience, and it told Sakura that he’d had his fair share of having to look after injured teammates.

As the dirty bandages came away, she was immediately displeased with the sight of her injuries. True to her diagnosis, her gash was infected. The laceration had a distinct greenish color around the edges and the skin beyond that was a puckered red that oozed out something she’d rather not give a name to.

Juugo pulled out a bag of dried herbs from his back which Sakura noticed sat near where her head had been. It seemed that he’d given her his sleeping space, allowing her a small comfort while he stayed somewhere else. She found herself observing him as he retrieved a small pestle and bowl along with his canteen of water. Catching on to what he wished to do, Sakura frowned slightly at his actions. The paste he was about to make was one that would soothe the burning on her side that was caused by the infection and served as a natural antiseptic and created a barrier between her injury and any outside entities.

The thought that he would go so far for her despite not knowing who she was, despite that he was Akatsuki, spoke volumes. He wasn’t like his other teammates: wasn’t like Karin, who Sakura had come to dislike within the short time of being conscious. Nor like Suigetsu, who was overly playful in the same way a Great White shark was. All sharp jabs that could tear you limb-from-limb.

In fact, Juugo was the opposite with his calm nature and soft voice. His gaze seemed anything but misleading, and the manner which he had taken great care to not jostle her or keep her from injuring herself further only proved that he truly did care for her well-being to a certain extent. It was this train of thought that made Sakura realize that he really had saved her life, especially since his teammates had pointed out that he didn’t have to bother with her at all. He could have just as easily left her to die, or passed her off onto the doorstep of whatever local inn they found first. But instead, he had chosen to look after her, to make her his responsibility. Sakura felt her resolve waver at the notion.

How could someone that was a part of the most infamous band of nukenin whose leader was hell-bent on taking over all five nations by means of using the power of the extracted bijuu, be capable of such compassion?

She had been so intently focused on her musings, that she nearly missed when Juugo took a torn piece of cloth and dipped into the salve before he approached her.

“That’s not necessary,” She murmured before he reached her. Her eyes landed on Karin, who raised her brow in appraisal. Sakura looked away first as she continued. “I know medical ninjutsu. I can heal myself once my chakra is restored.”

“Is that so?” Karin interrupted. “If you know medical ninjutsu then why didn’t you use it beforehand?”

“Because,” Sakura replied through gritted teeth. Her patience was starting to run dangerously low. “I didn’t exactly have access to it from the span of my passing out to now, have I?”

Karin’s eyes narrowed to slits. “Why you little—”

“Just unseal her chakra, Karin. If the kid’s able to heal herself then she’ll be good to go in no time, and our fearless leader won’t have to know she was here.” Suigetsu interjected.

The kunoichi scowled at Suigetsu but said nothing for a moment before she huffed angrily. It seemed she was torn in her decision, not that Sakura could blame her. On one hand, if they took Sakura at her word, she’d be able to heal herself and be out of their hair within the next few hours at the most. On the _other_ hand, there was no way for them to know what would happen should Karin restore Sakura’s chakra.

_She isn’t going to do it._ Sakura thought numbly as she began to wrack her brain for ways to escape the small cave they were staying in and put as much distance between herself and the missing-nin as she could.

Finally, after a few moments of internal debate that seemed to drag on forever, Karin seemed to have made her choice. Sakura braced herself as the redhead approached, her hand curling into fists and ready to dispel the henge so she could use what meager chakra she had at her disposal to defend herself. Karin, having seen Sakura’s response to her approach rolled wine-red eyes.

“For crying out loud, kid. Put those away before you hurt yourself.” She snapped before her hands flew into a series of hand signs.

Sakura, who’d bristled at Karin’s words, was prepared to unleash a verbal lashing when the other kunoichi’s hand flew out and struck her open-palmed against her solar plexus. A surge of boiling hot chakra rushed throughout Sakura’s chakra pathways. She closed her eyes sharply at the invasion, focusing what little chakra she had with all her might to maintain the henge she’d placed on herself. When she was sure her hold wasn’t going to waver, she opened her eyes to see Karin staring her down with a haughty expression on her face.

Already, Sakura could feel as her strength returned to her as her chakra began to flow naturally once more. However she frowned when she noticed that only a fourth of her reserves had been restored.

“The rest is still sealed. Why?” She snapped.

“Don’t whine, kid. I’ve given you enough to heal yourself, if you _can_ , and until you can prove to me that this little encounter we’ve had will remain mum, you won’t be getting anymore.” Karin replied waspishly.

Sakura frowned severely. “Trust me when I say, I will be _more than glad_ to never speak a word of this encounter once you let me go.”

The other kunoichi said nothing as she sent her a leveled glare that Sakura was quick to brush off. Now that she had part of her chakra at her disposal, she was far more interested in healing what she could of her injures.

And if Sakura smirked at Karin’s displeasure over her obvious dismissal when the other kunoichi wasn’t looking, well, Sakura had to find _some_ kind of entertainment where she could.

 

* * *

 

The sun beat down mercilessly upon them that day. Which was strange considering the fact that they were up north in one of the expanses of land that sat nestled between Fire Country and Lightning during springtime.

The air was oppressing with its humidity and the gust of glacial wind that broke up the heat didn’t help much either. It was a constant bout between hot and cold, and after experiencing it for nearly seven hours, Naruto had grown sick of it.

For the umpteenth time since he was put on watch, Naruto looked back longingly to the group of tents that were encamped within the stone walls of their current homebase. But much like every other time Naruto caught a glimpse of camp, he was abruptly remind of Konoha in the ruins in which they’d left her. He forced his mind to clear the images of desolation and instead focused on keeping his comrades safe.

Letting out an impatient breath, the eighteen-year-old jinchuuriki turned and glared at the expanse of forest that sat before his post. Of all the things that Naruto had learned (forced himself) to get accustomed to in the three years they’d been at war, he found that keeping watch was the one that took a toll on his person the most. He’d never been the best with patience, probably never _would_ be, so it made little sense to him that his superiors would continue to have him carry out this particularly mundane job. Even if it was something all active duty shinobi had to do, and vitally important to their safety. So he did what he always did when he was assigned guard duty.

He cheated.

Like he did at the start of every watch, blue eyes had slipped closed as he sat with his hands folded in his lap and allowed the nature chakra that surrounded him to seep into his own. He’d welcomed the familiar tingle in his eyes as he merged them together seamlessly and built up in his system until there was enough to activate sage mode and use it to keep tabs on the dozens of familiar chakra signatures of the comrades he had come to know. It was simpler this way, and he didn’t have to keep a constant eye for danger. If there was ever an ambush, all he had to do was take note of the unfamiliar blips that appeared on what he’d dubbed to be his “chakra radar”, and alert one of the commanding officers immediately.

As he took a steadying breath, he caught sight of a familiar signature that quickly made its way to his outpost.

The corners of his lips twitched up into a smile as the figure finally reached him. The sound of nin-sandals clacking on the wooden deck of the bungalow where he was posted resonated in his ears. When he opened his eyes, his smile bloomed into a full-blown grin.

“Hey Hinata-chan.”

The kunoichi in question smiled softly at him as she tucked a wayward lock of dark, glossy hair behind her ear. “Hello, Naruto-kun. Kakashi-taichou says you’re dismissed from watch, and that we have a f-fifteen minute window before we’re to officially change posts.”

Naruto tremendously enjoyed the way her cheeks reddened, with no doubt in his mind that she knew _exactly_ why his former sensei had given them such a large window of time to switch. Blue eyes watched raptly as she walked forward in full shinobi regalia. Her long hair was pulled back, leaving her bangs free to sway with every step she took towards him. Her headband engraved with the kanji for _shinobi_ rested against her collarbone, partially obscured by the high collar of her flak jacket. It shone dully in the meager light that entered their post.

The Kyuubi jinchuuriki held his hand out for her to take before he gently led her down to sit between his legs, allowing her to rest her head on his shoulder as she leaned back into his chest. They sat in silence for several moments as neither said anything, merely content in being in each other’s presence. The flex of her chakra told Naruto that she’d activated her bloodline limit, and that despite her relaxed position, hadn’t allowed her guard to drop for a moment. Naruto bent at the neck and pressed a lingering kiss to her temple and grinned wryly when he felt her face grow hot.

Even after two years of being together, she still reacted to him like she had as a genin.

“I’ve missed this,” she whispered after a few moments of comfortable silence. “Two weeks was too long for a scouting trip. I missed being able to relax in your arms.”

Naruto was ready to tell her that he’d missed her too, that his heart ached for her whenever she wasn’t near, but Hinata pressed on before he could.

“I miss Shino-kun, and Kiba-kun, and Akamaru. I miss _home_.”

A familiar ache bloomed in his chest at her words. “I miss home too, Hinata-chan. I miss eating at Ichiraku’s, and spending time in my apartment. I miss going to the training grounds to train, heading to Hokage Tower for a new mission. I miss…” he faltered slightly, but he was sure that Hinata knew him well enough now to guess what he’d wanted to say.

_Sasuke and Sakura-chan._

The silence that followed was excruciating.

Naruto held onto Hinata tightly, urging the thoughts— _their faces_ —to go away. Because it hurt. It hurt so much that sometimes he let it get the best of him, and because of it he’d failed to protect a comrade in the midst of battle on more than one occasion.

All it had taken for Naruto’s world to shatter was losing two of his most precious people within the span of three years.

Sasuke’s defection from Konoha had been, and still was, a hard hit on him. He was perhaps the only person that had ever come close to being like a brother to him, and he had hoped that somewhere deep down, Sasuke thought the same of him. Sasuke’s confession that he’d become his closest friend constantly left a bittersweet taste in Naruto’s mouth. He rejoiced in knowing that after all this time, that despite their intense dislike for one another in the beginning, that Sasuke had grown to care for him as much as Naruto did. But that sentiment was overshadowed by his friend’s thirst for power, and finding out almost three years later at the tender age of fifteen that it was because of this bond with the last Uchiha, that his friend had felt it necessary to try and take his life in order to get closer to completing his goal had felt like a punch to the gut.

Needless to say that Sasuke has proved to be strong enough to defeat Itachi without the aid of the Mangekyou Sharingan. But the moment he’d done so, fate had thrown yet another roadblock between his and Sakura’s goal to bring him home, and Akatsuki had been much faster at arriving to his side. The masked-nin who later revealed himself to be Madara spirited Sasuke away and thus set him on the path he was currently on now.

However, despite how hard Sasuke’s defection had hit him, it was _Sakura’s_ disappearance that had put the icing on the proverbial cake that was his life before it shot to the very pits of hell.

When the news had spread that Sakura had a warrant for her arrest and later deemed a missing-nin from Konoha by order of the Rokudaime Hokage, everyone had been worked into a frenzy coming to her defense. Team Kakashi had promptly assembled of their own volition and combed through what was left of the village looking for any signs of familiar pink hair in hopes that the news was false.

They’d found none.

It wasn’t much later that Naruto (with Kakashi, Sai, and Yamato in tow) had barged into Danzou’s newly built office and demanded an explanation.

 

_The door to the Hokage’s newly reconstructed office burst open with a thunderous bang. The three Root members that had been situated around the Rokudaime’s desk tensed and went into defensive formation. Naruto had barged in, ignoring the calls of his teammates and squad leader and made a beeline towards Danzou. The Root operatives were quick to move, but each paused uncharacteristically as Naruto’s eyes turned red in his outrage._

_“Where is she?” he bellowed. His hands slammed onto the desk, and this time Root didn’t hesitate to intercept him. They were stopped, however, when wooden columns erupted from the floor of the circular office and encased each of them._

_Danzou appeared unfazed by the goings-on around him and merely looked to Naruto with a mild look of displeasure in hsi visible eye. After a moment he looked towards Kakashi, Yamato, and Sai; each regarded him with blank expressions that hid the turbulent feelings they no doubt felt._

_“Answer me!” the blonde yelled, which compelled the acting Hokage to look at him once more._

_“Haruno Sakura has left the village of her own volition after failing to report to me when summoned and interfering in matters regarding the village’s welfare.” He replied gruffly._

_“That’s a lie! Sakura-chan would never leave the village like that. And she sure has hell would never do anything to endanger it! Konoha’s her home; everything she’s ever done has been to protect it. Why would she interfere in matters that would be good for Konoha?”_

_At this, Danzou leveled a hard glare at Naruto._

_“Haruno Sakura is not, nor has she ever been, a priority of mine. I do not bother myself with questions of ‘what if’ or ponder over the circumstance of her departure, only that she had done so without my express consent and has eliminated a handful of my operatives before doing so. My men merely informed me of her interference and her refusal to acquiesce to the orders they were within their rights to give.”_

_“More like a squadron of shady assholes tried to arrest her and probably bring her in for interrogation!” Naruto yelled as his temper flared dangerously. His canines started to elongate considerably, and he could feel the beginnings of the Kyuubi’s chakra bubbling beneath his skin violently._

_Yamato, Kakashi, and Sai all looked at him warily; the former visibly readied himself to restrain him in case the seal weakened further. It had only been a mere seventy-two hours since Naruto’s battle with Pain, and he’d yet to fully recover his reserves completely. The last thing they needed was for the strongest bijuu to be unleashed while they tried to recover from Pain’s devastating attack._

_Danzou watched them all, unfazed. His sharp eye scrutinized them as they stood before him rigidly, all aware that they’d broken at least six laws by being in his office as they were—with the Kyuubi jinchuuriki threatening his livelihood no matter how indirectly, and with his guard incapacitated. Yet, it was because of the position they were in, that despite their rage, the men of Team Kakashi felt a trepidation felt trepidation begin to stir within them. By placing the Hokage in this position, they were also putting themselves at risk, both in the eyes of the law and his own personal agenda._

“Naruto,” _Kakashi warned._

_There was no doubt in his mind that after this was over, if Danzou allowed them to walk out of his office, that there would be hell to pay and the price would be steep. He could easily demote them all in a heartbeat and strip Naruto of his ninja rank altogether under the guise of protecting the jinchuuriki in their possession. They were playing a dangerous game, and if they wanted a chance to get Sakura back they needed to remain in the Hokage’s good graces, even if it disgusted them to do so._

_They had to. For Sakura._

_At his senpai’s nod, Yamato released the guards but refused to let the seal on his hand fade as he focused it on Naruto more intensely. Sai merely stood several feet from them, the brush he’d subconsciously drawn out was returned to his pouch along with the chakra-laced ink as he watched the scene before him with an expressionless mask. It was only Naruto who’d yet to relent his pursuit as he dug his fingers into the surface of the desk, his claws leaving marks on the polished surface._

_“If that is all gentlemen, I would kindly see to it that you are escorted out of this tower. And I hope in the future that you think twice before barging in and threatening your Hokage all for the sake of one kunoichi, no matter_ who _she is.” Danzou dismissed._

_Naruto was hauled off his desk and shoved roughly back to his team._

_The Root members all grabbed them by the collars and shoved them out of the Rokudaime's office and the tower. The flex of their chakra settled beyond the double doors of the entrance let Team Kakashi know that they were not taking any chances on keeping unwanted visitors out._

_"Dammit!" Naruto cursed as he slammed his fist into the stone wall of the building._

_"Calm down, Naruto." Yamato said. "We're not going to be of any help to Sakura if we can't keep our heads on straight"_

_"He's right." Kakashi agreed, pulling the blonde from the wall and pushing him down the bustling street. They were starting to garner attention. "We've got to think this through. If we're rash, he'll demote us all and any chance we'll have to find Sakura will be gone."_

_Naruto said nothing as he walked, his shoulders slumped in the same manner they had been when he’d learned of Jiraiya's death. He only paused when the weight of Kakashi's gloved hand came down on his shoulder and bleak blue eyes met steady charcoal gray ones._

_"We'll get her back, Naruto; Sasuke too. We don't ever turn our backs on our teammates. Got it?"_

_"Got it." He replied, feeling comforted by the words despite himself._

 

The memory had haunted him for the longest time. A bittersweet reminder of just how much pain the bonds he shared with Sasuke and Sakura could bring. But no matter the pain, in the end it only served to push him harder towards his goals. Come heaven or hell, he'd fight and he'd _die_ to get them back.

It was the only way.

The blond exhaled loudly as he pulled Hinata closer to him, relishing in the warmth her small frame gave off and relaxing slightly as he caught her faint scent.

"I'll get them back." He vowed, "And when I do, everyone will see that no matter what, our bonds are the strongest things we have."

"I know you will, Naruto-kun. I believe in you." She replied. Her opalescent gaze was transfixed on his own as a soft smile curved her lips.

They both stood, knowing that their time together was coming to an end, and shared a brief kiss. "Be careful, Hinata-chan." He murmured against her temple when he pulled her back into his embrace.

"Always." She vowed.

 

* * *

 

“Dammit,” Sakura grit through clenched teeth as small beads of sweat rolled down her temples. The green glow of her healing chakra began to dim slightly from her lack of reserves. She’d been healing healing herself for the past few hours.

The moment she felt all of the chakra that had been restored to her to be completely replenished, she began to work tediously on her wounds. The first thing she fix being her fractured ribs, followed closely by the gash along her side. The process was tricky, considering that she first had to draw out the infection before she was able to properly mend the wound. That alone had taken longer than she liked, and as a result she hadn’t been able to heal the gash completely before her chakra began to fizzle out. By the end of it all, Sakura had just enough healing chakra to close the wound to where it would keep her injury from reopening upon movement. She was still susceptible to infection though, so she needed what little of her chakra she had to replenish soon.

Sakura wrapped up her healing when she felt her reserves come dangerously low. Her exhaustion from the intense healing session was bone-deep, and she frowned at the dive her endurance took as she slumped against the stone wall that Juugo propped her up on.

_Easy girl,_ she mentally chastised herself. _You took on an entire squad of hunter-nin by yourself and had to force your body into overdrive. Not to mention having your kidneys work in overdrive to help process the toxin out faster._

She was pulled from her thoughts as Juugo approached her. He’d been watching her as she worked, making sure that she was alright and in slight fascination of her glowing hands. He crouched down once he was before her, once again offering his water canteen and urged her to take a few sips.

“Thank you,”  Sakura said once she drank her fill. She was still wary of his intentions, but so far he was the only one present that cared whether or not she had lived or died, and she felt she owed him the benefit of the doubt. Juugo nodded silently as he took a seat beside her. It was only the two of them right now. Suigetsu had gone off in search of dinner, and Karin went to secure the parameter of their camp, leaving Sakura in Juugo’s care.

After another beat of silence, Sakura spoke up apprehensively. “Do you still have that salve on you?”

The large man nodded silently before his hands disappeared into the depths of his traveling cloak. When he withdrew it, he held a small pot that housed some pale green paste.

“May I?” he asked, gesturing to the open front of her shirt that put her wrapped torso on display.

Sakura scrutinized him for a moment. She knew that she could trust him to a certain extent, and knew that he wouldn’t have offered his help in order to get the upper hand. What was there for him to gain? Her chakra was gone, and she was still gravely injured. She wouldn’t stand a chance if he were to attack her now, not with the rest of it sealed away. It was that train of thought along with the orange glow of his eyes as he looked at her, unable to hide the apparent worry he felt.

_How can he look at me like that?_ She wondered. For an internationally wanted criminal, he was too kind. Too empathetic.

She nodded slowly and allowed herself to be lowered back down onto his mat and unwound the bandages that covered the gash. She watched as he took great care to not touch the areas of her injury that were still rather tender. Once he’d uncovered the paste, he began to spread the salve over her inflamed skin. The effect was instantaneous. The aloe and several other herbs he’d added soothed the irritation and stopped the itch that she’d been hard-pressed to ignore. Despite her previous apprehension, for typical first aid out in the field, Juugo really knew what he was doing.

Once he finished spreading the salve, he brought out a fresh roll of bandages and bound her injury once more to make sure that the wound was protected from the elements. He finished up by simply closing the front of her threadbare tunic and replaced the cloak that had been serving as her makeshift blanket.

“You’re very skilled in medical ninjutsu for a kunoichi your age.” he started. “I’ve seen some at work before, and most wouldn’t be able to draw out the infection half as well as you did.”

_Damn_ , Sakura cursed. Her lips pressed into a thin line, but showed no other indication that she’d been taken by surprise at his astuteness. Instead she played dumb and kept her voice as steady and as pleasantly surprised as believable.

“Really? I’ve only ever done this a few times. Usually I make sure to avoid getting hurt, since it drains me so much.”

Juugo nodded. “A good choice considering you’re out here on your own. If you won’t mind me asking, why exactly are you—”

Whatever Juugo’s question had been, it was cut off by Karin’s piercing scream.

Instantly Juugo was on his feet and out of the cave without so much as taking a second glance at Sakura as he did so. Sakura’s brows pulled together at this before she realized that this was her chance to slip away.

Standing on shaky legs, she gathered her things and left the cave where they’d made camp. She would find time to work on the seal later, her priority right now was to get out alive and put as much distance between herself and Akatsuki as she could. Placing her filthy cloak over her shoulders, Sakura slipped out of the cave that was hidden behind the waterfall. The torrent of water that thundered into the quarry made the rocky ledge along the side of the entrance dangerously slick.

Using what tiny bit of chakra she had left to spare without compromising her henge, Sakura navigated over the slick stone haphazardly before she slipped into the safety of the forest. It was dark out, and she realized with a pang of surprise that she didn’t know just how long she’d been with Akatsuki. It could have been a few hours or a few days, but there was no way of knowing without asking, and that sure as hell wasn’t going to happen.

The shadows the trees and night sky provided were the perfect cover. Steadily, she navigated herself through thick underbrush despite her exhaustion. She was so far gone, however she was still weak from her injury and lack of chakra that she’d failed to notice Suigetsu coming up behind her until it was too late and she was overtaken.

“Where exactly do you think you’re going, kid?” he asked, looking down at her with a dangerously relaxed expression as she came to a halt.

“I’m leaving,” Sakura replied stonily, unaffected. She knew he wanted her out of their hair before their fourth teammate returned. He would let her go, she was sure of it.

Before the missing-nin could say anything however, Karin’s voice pierced the air once more. Clearer than her first cry now that the din of the waterfall was gone.

“SUIGETSU!” She yelled, her tone laced with fear and desperation that made the white-haired male’s body stiffen.

“Sorry kid, shit’s going down and we can’t let you go just yet.”

“Whatever happened to me being gone before your teammate came back?” she bit back.

Suigetsu grinned at her, “That was the plan _before_ Karin deemed you untrustworthy. Not that I blame her. It wouldn’t bode well for us if the big guy found out we’d been compromised by you. So you’re staying, like it or not.”

Sakura didn’t have a chance to reply before she was suddenly swept off her feet and tossed over his shoulder like a sack of rice.

“Hey!” she protested.

“Just shut up and keep still unless you want to die in the next twenty seconds.” He warned, his playful tone gone as it took a more serious edge that Sakura had yet to encounter.

Despite her anger, Sakura wisely kept her mouth shut, and within moments, the pair had caught up to Juugo and Karin. The other two were nestled in a small clearing that lay hidden in the shadows, with Karin heaving slightly as she helped carry a man’s slumped form while Juugo took his other side. Suigetsu promptly dropped Sakura at the base of a nearby tree, his warning gaze met with her heated one before he smirked at her and headed towards his teammates.

“Lay him off on me, Karin. Oh, and keep an eye on our little prisoner. She was trying to run off while all this happened, be glad I caught her.”

The kunoichi frowned at Suigetsu’s tone before she turned and fixed Sakura with an icy glare. She gently eased the arm off her shoulders and passed the unconscious man off to Suigetsu who took him easily.

“Hey, you gonna be alright?” Suigetsu prompted to the figure.

Sakura’s eyes weren’t able to make out the features of the man clearly in the darkness, but the coppery smell of blood was unmistakable in the air.

“Don’t be such an idiot, Suigetsu. _Look_ at him. He’s bleeding out everywhere and barely conscious!” Karin snapped.

The moment she finished her sentence was the moment Juugo and Suigetsu helped their injured teammate out of the shadows and further into the clearing. The light of the moon bleached the world of all color, making Suigetsu’s white hair practically glow and Juugo’s orange color fade to brown.

Sakura froze when her eyes landed on the man suspended between them.

_No. It couldn’t be. It_ can’t _be…_

The moment the thought ran through her head, the control she’d kept over her chakra wavered and blared like a siren to the member who had yet to register her presence until that moment. His head snapped up and she froze beneath the murderous gaze of blood-red eyes.

_Sasuke_.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as he moved lightning quick despite his injuries. He wrenched himself from Juugo and Suigetsu’s grasp and appeared before her in a flash, his blade drawn and poised at the throat as the smell of blood invaded her nostrils.

His Sharingan revolved dangerously before melding together and taking a different form, his Mangekyou. He looked down the length of his blade at her, nothing but pure killing intent rolling off of him in waves and leaving her paralyzed before him.

“ _Sakura._ ”


	4. Unmasked

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone for the kind words and kudos! I hope you enjoy the chapter!
> 
> xx LCF

She stood frozen before his blade; the sound of her heart pounding in her chest was all she could hear after he had uttered her name. There was a lapse in her control which was not something she was prone to do, especially when her life was on the line. But she had been so genuinely shocked in a way she hadn’t been in such a long time that it had wavered, and for an instant her henge faltered, making the short dark hair she bore turn into a washed-out pink in the moonlight before reverting back to its inky hue.

It lasted only a fraction of a second, but it was enough for Sasuke to notice the shift of her chakra. Despite his beaten frame, it seemed his senses were as sharp as ever.

Sakura could feel the beginnings of a bone-deep fatigue begin to creep up on her. She was exhausted, and her body ached from the sudden movement when she’d attempted to escape. It had been too soon for her to move strenuously, but the desire to leave had burned desperately inside of her and she had to at least attempt it, because what other opportunity would there be? Now there was nothing of her chakra left for her to use in case a fight broke out between them. And she knew that if it came down to it, she’d most likely lose her life at Sasuke’s hands.

She braced herself for his next move; waited for him to effortlessly glide his sword across her skin like nothing—waited for him to end her life as his reputation foretold. He was merciless now, and she didn’t dare hope that she would be an exception to his ruthlessness. If he was killing to kill Naruto, what chance did she stand?

The feel of his blade biting into her neck made Sakura snap her attention back to him, and suddenly she was falling. The darkness of the night encompassed her like a blanket and the last the she knew was the Sharingan’s spinning gaze.

_I’m such a fool_.

 

* * *

  

Warm tracks of blood ran down Sasuke’s cheek as he felt the Sharingan fade. His hold on Kusanagi weakened as the last of his chakra burnt out, and he staggered slightly to the ground near Sakura’s crumpled form, only Juugo and Suigetsu’s hold on him kept him from toppling over. His breath came in labored pants as the final burst of energy he used when he’d confronted Sakura pushed him to his limits.

_Limits,_ he thought bitterly, _That should no longer be there._

“Sasuke!” Karin yelled from somewhere behind him. The muted sounds of feet hitting the earth were barely discernible through the haze of exhaustion in his mind.

“Quick! Bite before you pass out,” she instructed as she thrust a bare forearm to his mouth.

Teeth barely connected to yielding flesh as she willed her chakra to seep into him. He felt the burning sensation of his skin knitting itself back together along with the gradual stop of the blood flow that had been steadily pouring from his more serious injuries.

As his exhaustion began to recede, his mind grew clearer and his thoughts grew darker. Onyx eyes narrowed slightly as the memories of the battle he’d been in flooded his mind. If it hadn’t been for the fact that he’d had enough strength to summon one of his hawks and return to Taka’s designated meeting point, he would have still been sprawled in the middle of that godforsaken battlefield and possibly perished like those corpses that’d surrounded him.

It was a large feat to be able to lay a hand on his person, and rarer still to be able to injure him critically and force him to waste such an absurd amount of his chakra. But then again, it hadn’t been just _anybody_ whom he’d fought against.

After several minutes passed, the worst of his injuries had closed up entirely and when he felt he had enough strength, he removed himself from Karin’s proffered limb and the other half of Taka’s grasps. Karin slumped forward in exhaustion, sweat beading her brow as she took ragged breaths. Juugo quickly descended on her, scooping up the redhead easily in his arms before turning to Sasuke for further instructions. The Uchiha gave him a brief nod, which Juugo took as his assent before he turned and made his way back to camp. Sasuke then looked to Suigetsu who currently knelt over the unconscious kunoichi on the ground.

“What do you want to do with her?” he asked, the ends of his frosty hair brushing his shoulder as he tipped his head to the side in curiosity.

“Bind her and return her to the cave. We’ll see just how much she knows when she awakens.”

Suigetsu nodded silently, easily taking the girl—Sakura—in his arms and headed towards the cave. Sasuke fixed a glare towards the dark-haired kunoichi in the former Mist-nin’s grasp, his eyes piercing as he took note of her altered demeanor.

He was positive it was her. There was no other explanation.

She was one of the very few shinobi that had the closest thing to perfect chakra control that he’d ever come across. A skill, if she’d bothered to hone it, that enabled her to use a henge that very few people would be able to pick up on, natural chakra sensors included. Perfect chakra control paired with her being a natural genjutsu type made her capable of pulling off impossible feats of illusion with dangerous ease. Considering that she was both unconscious and had her chakra bound, Sasuke presumed that Sakura had at least bothered to train that aspect of her strength.

The only question that remained was what she wanted from them. Was she sent for espionage? Reconnaissance?

...Was she there for him? To make another attempt to persuade him to return to Konoha?

The last thought made his aura darken considerably, enough so to cause Suigetsu to look over his shoulder a few times as they silently made their way to the cave. No matter her reason, the only way he’d ever step foot though those gates willingly once more would be to fulfill his own wishes and to cleanse the name of his clan once and for all.

The memory of his unexpected encounter with Naruto and Kakashi mentally replayed itself in his mind’s eye. The words he’d screamed at them years ago reverberated like a fragmented echo of desperation.

_“I want to change that laughter into screams and cries of pain and anguish!”_

Shaking the confrontation from his mind, Sasuke turned his gaze upon the trailing arms that hung from Suigetsu’s grasp.

Why was she there? What was her purpose?

The moment she awoke from the Sharingan’s grasp, Sasuke had every intention of finding out.

 

* * *

  

Figures raced through the tree line at breakneck speeds, well-hidden by the shadows that the forest provided in the night. An entire platoon of shinobi was on the move, all following their taichou forward as he ran alongside his subordinate. Mismatched eyes slid towards the left as they rested on the Byakugan user’s intent face.

“How much closer are we?” Kakashi asked.

“We’re about five kilometers away, taichou.” Hinata responded thickly, no doubt out of her mind with worry at the disappearance of his former student. As they closed in on their target, a surprised breath caught in her throat as the most recent battleground came into her sight.

They arrived within several minutes of her calculation and the scene they found was a gruesome one.

Hundreds of white Zetsu bodies laid strewn across the ground, bloody and torn under the light of the moon. The stench of rust and copper filled the air as they got closer along with ash. There was an electric charge that hung in the air, and Kakashi could sense a familiar figure not too far from their entering point. From the look on Hinata’s face, he wasn’t the only one to have sensed him.

“Hinata, go assist the medical corps with finding any survivors. If you do, keep them alive at all costs so we can get them to interrogation.”

Kakashi looked at the morbid sight before him silently. He could hear the slight gasps that escaped his subordinates as they all entered the battlefield and could quite literally feel their trepidation and unease at the sight before them. War was never pretty and he had hoped, albeit foolishly, that the generation following his own would have been spared to see such a gruesome sight. War changed people, made people grow up quickly or killed them mercilessly, without hesitation.

“Kakashi,” called Pakkun. “We found him.”

He wasted no time and followed Pakkun through the trees as the small ninken navigated his way through the forest.

It didn’t take them long to find Naruto. They found him in the middle of another bloodbath, the ground blasted apart as he wrenched a dismembered arm from his right pectoral with a sharp grunt. The limb fell to the ground to reunite with its equally bloody owner. Obito’s Sharingan could already see the Kyuubi’s chakra healing the injury. Thankfully it didn’t appear to be too deep.

Kakashi allowed himself half a second to feel relieved.

“You don’t normally let yourself get hit. Especially by one of those,” he nodded to the white Zetsu corpse at the blond’s feet. “You’re usually much faster than that.”

A mirthless chuckle escaped his former student before he shrugged his shoulders with a forced nonchalance that rivaled his mother’s when she’d been alive. “Yeah well, I was distracted. It happens.”

The sigh Kakashi had been holding back since word of Naruto deserting camp finally came to the surface.

“ _Naruto_.”

“ _Sensei,_ ” the blond mimicked and Kakashi felt his patience grow thin. It’d been far too long since Naruto stooped to such childish antics and the Copy Ninja found himself dangerously out of practice in how to deal with it. Catching the look in his eyes, Naruto dropped it with a petulant glare that reminded Kakashi of the overexcited boy he’d been when he’d first been assigned to his team.

“Do you care to explain why you took off like a bat out of hell without so much as a word to me or any other supervising officer? You put us on high alert and I had to assemble nearly a quarter of the battalion to come after you.”

At this, Naruto had the decency to look shamefaced. “I’m sorry, Kakashi-sensei. I didn’t mean to run off like that, and least of all to make our comrades come after me, but I’d just gotten off patrol when I sensed a skirmish breaking out. I _had_ to come.”

“Naruto, we’re nearly thirty kilometers from camp. How could you have even sensed something out this far?”

The blond’s guilty look came back and everything suddenly fell into place.

“You used sage mode,” Kakashi deduced, unamused. “I didn’t realize you’d expanded it’s range _yet again_.” The Copy Ninja let out another sigh before he pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation.

“You know you have to come to me whenever you expand your parameter! Not to mention sage mode has been expressly forbidden to be used during your patrols for _this exact reason_.”

Naruto opened his mouth to defend himself but Kakashi cut him off. “No, I don’t care about the reason anymore. You’ve put yourself and others in unnecessary danger. Danzou _will_ find out and when he does, I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep you from being disciplined.”

“I am not some kid for him to just—” Naruto started, but was once again cut off.

“You’re right, you’re not a kid. You’re shinobi, and not just any shinobi. You are the vessel of a bijuu, one of the last remaining two that Akatsuki has thankfully been unable to get their hands on. What do you think would happen if they found you before we did? If Madara came upon you?

“You’re eighteen years old, Naruto. Start acting like it!” At this Naruto’s growing ire promptly exploded.

“I KNOW!” the blond roared before leaving an uncomfortable silence in its wake.

_I always figured it would’ve been Sasuke that I had to beat this lesson into._ Kakashi thought miserably. He’d never expected it of Naruto.

Former student and teacher stood before each other, tense. Seconds passed with both of them refusing to back down, and it was only after several agonizing moments of silent warring did the younger of the two finally yield.

“I’m sorry, sensei.” Naruto started. “I really am. You know I’d never dream of putting any of my comrades in danger—not after everything we’ve been through, but I sensed something and I _couldn’t_ turn a blind eye and walk away.”

“What was it you sensed, then?”

“It was Sasuke.” Kakashi stiffened at Naruto’s declaration, but the blond pressed on before he could get a word in. “At first I thought he might have encountered some of the Root patrols, but I recognized who it was he was fighting.”

The blond jerked his head to the decimated Zetsu that surrounded them. “And there’s more, at least two hundred.”

At Naruto’s words, Kakashi felt his age catch up with him. With the adrenaline in his veins wearing down, the ache of his bones and the strain on his body slowly trickled back. Harsh reminders that he was past the prime of his life and that it all went downhill from here. Gai would be thrilled to know that the fire of his youth outstripped Kakashi’s by far.

_These brats will be the death of me,_ he thought grimly. _Sasuke defects, Sakura is missing, and Danzou’s got Naruto on such a short leash I’m surprised it’s not strangling him._

“Don’t you see, Kakashi-sensei? Sasuke’s fighting against them now!”

Seeing where this was going, Kakashi quickly intervened. “Don’t get ahead of yourself yet, Naruto. Do you remember the conversation we had with him on the bridge two years ago? The one where Sasuke said he wouldn’t rest until Konoha and all its inhabitants laid in ruins? Regardless of his reasons for fighting with the Zetsu clones, we can’t trust him. Not when there’s so much more at stake.”

Naruto nodded slowly at his words before he pulled himself to his full height. There was a painfully familiar glimmer in his eyes that was not unlike his father’s when he set his mind to something. Kakashi felt both pride and wariness at once.

“I know that this war is important, and I know that those who don’t follow the rules are trash… But those who abandon their friends are worse than trash, right sensei? So I’m not going to give up on him, I know Sakura-chan wouldn’t,” Naruto bent down and picked up something that up until that moment had been hidden by the debris of the battlefield. He tossed it down at Kakashi’s feet before heading to where the rest of the platoon was situated.

“And neither should you.”

Kakashi remained, mismatched eyes staring down at the pristine Akatsuki cloak that had been discarded.

  

* * *

  

Orange eyes landed for the umpteenth time on the unconscious kunoichi that lay bound on the floor of the cave. Large hands tightly held onto the bloodied cloak that had been stripped of her, long fingers fidgeting with the material as he looked towards the mass of dark hair. Said hair was splayed over her face after Suigetsu had unceremoniously dumped her onto Juugo’s bedroll, and after a sharp glance from Sasuke, began binding her hands, wrists, and ankles.

She took steady breaths, meaning that her injuries were no longer causing her any severe discomfort and she laid on her side with a blank expression on her heart-shaped face.

It had been thirty minutes since Sasuke had woken from his rest, and currently all members of Taka sat congregated around the fire, each looking towards Sasuke with expectant eyes.

“How did she get here?” He asked brusquely.

Karin shifted her eyes slightly towards he and Suigetsu with a frown on her face. Her displeasure and obvious contempt towards the situation in plain view. Suigetsu, on the other hand, did nothing as he folded his hands behind his head and reclined against the wall of the cave after taking another swig from his water canteen.

“Simple, it was Juugo.” he muttered.

“He wasn’t the only one, Suigetsu.” Karin snapped, “You helped him get here with a half-dead child in his arms.”

“Yeah, but it was _Juugo’s_ idea.” Suigetsu replied, his pointed teeth glimmered slightly in the light of the fire as he narrowed his violet eyes dangerously.

Karin opened her mouth with what was sure to be a violent retort, but was cut off by Sasuke.

“Enough.” his voice rang out.

Suigetsu paused momentarily as his gaze settled on Sasuke before he gave a noncommittal shrug and closed his eyes. Karin let out an impatient huff before crossing her arms over her chest angrily, but made no other form of protest. The steady crackling of the fire and continuous torrent of the waterfall was the only source of noise in the cave for a few seconds before Juugo came forward with his explanation.

“It was my idea, Sasuke. If her being here is a disturbance I will quickly remedy the situation.”

“That’s not going to be possible.” Sasuke deadpanned.

“I only need a day or so to find a small town to leave her, it wouldn’t be diff--”

“I said _no._ ”

The large man stilled at the Uchiha’s hard tone. Having spent the last three years with Taka, Juugo was well accustomed to all of Sasuke’s tendencies. He knew the tones he drew for when Suigetsu and Karin’s fighting wore down his patience. He knew when he was tired, even as he failed to show it. He knew his preferences and his dislikes, knew how he wanted his operations carried out. It was the sort of gift that only time was able to give, it was the fruit that years of comradeship bore. This was the first time in all their time together that he’d ever spoken that way towards him, and Juugo found he did not like it.

It made him feel ashamed, no matter if he did what he felt was right. Because Sasuke was the one who kept his murderous impulses at bay. Sasuke was the one Kimimaro had sacrificed his life for. Thus Juugo’s devotion laid with only him, and he’d betrayed that confidence by allowing his impulses to take hold of him, no matter how pure his intentions had been.

Off to the side, it seemed that Sasuke’s quiet outburst had not gone unnoticed by the others. Despite her anger, Karin peered over at them, and Suigetsu had cracked open a violet eye from his perch.

Sasuke ignored them all.

“I don’t want any of you interacting with her. At least not until we find out what she wants with us.”

Karin snorted from her spot. “Well you don’t have to worry about me. Just let me know whether you want to kill or interrogate her.”

“No!” the words exploded from his lips before Juugo could even think to hold them back.

No matter his devotion to Sasuke, the damage was done and the girl was here now. He would not allow them to harm her, and if Sasuke found her presence too much of a danger then he would figure something out, but he would not let Karin get her jealous claws into her.

Sasuke’s gaze flicked from Juugo to the girl’s slumped form. “You know nothing about her.”

“Neither do you,” Juugo replied in a rare show of resistance.

“We’ll see when she awakens.” the Uchiha replied before sitting back and allowing himself to be consumed by the surrounding darkness of the cave. 

 

* * *

  

Kakashi sat behind the desk in the tent that served as his office. His former student had been forced into isolation the moment they’d returned from camp as per Danzou’s orders until further instructions came.

Naruto, of course, had kicked up quite the fuss. Not that he could blame him. It was a simple known fact that when someone you cared for was on the line, one would do anything in order to protect them. Sakura had done so for the boys during the second part of their chuunin exams, Sasuke had done the same during their mission to the Land of Waves, and Naruto continued to do so for them. Even now, six years after life had pulled them down different paths.

The masked-nin let out a deep breath, silver brows pinched together as he tried to remember when exactly he’d come to love these brats as his own.

The legendary Copy Ninja pulled himself out of his thoughts as he felt a familiar chakra signature approaching. He gave a subtle flex in his chakra that let his incoming visitor know that he was free to meet with him. In a matter of seconds a masked operative crossed the meager barrier of his captain’s tent.

“How is he?” was the first thing the Root operative asked as he approached. The cloaked figure pulled down his hood and removed the porcelain mask to reveal an equally pale face.

“He’s fine. Though I gave him the ass-chewing of a lifetime.” Kakashi sighed, his head already hurting just from recalling the spat they’d gotten into. “Any idea what the word is yet? Has our fearless leader thought up any punishment yet?”

“Nothing’s been confirmed, but keep an eye out for a missive. I’m not sure what the Rokudaime’s got planned, but I know that he is extremely displeased by your inability to rein him in. It’s the only reason he allowed him to stay with you.”

“I’m aware,” Kakashi responded dryly. “Regardless, I’m the best option he’s got with Tsunade’s whereabouts remaining unknown and Tenzou’s capture.”

Sai merely nodded before he began putting his mask and hood back on, rendering him to just another faceless operative under Danzou’s regime. He made his way to the opening of the tent when Kakashi found his voice again.

“Is it true?” He asked before Sai left. “Did Sasuke really turn on Madara?”

It was a long shot, he knew. But if anyone could find their way around the seal, it would be him.

Sai paused his departure, though he did not face Kakashi again. “It seems that the hawk is on the hunt once more.”

He was gone without another word. 

 

* * *

  

The first thing Sakura noticed when the first waves of consciousness crashed into her were the four chakra signatures in her immediate vicinity. She paused warily, her own chakra spiking slightly instead of keeping the regular flow she was capable of holding steady. Her sluggish actions had not gone unnoticed, because the very second her chakra shifted, someone was on her in an instant. Hands roughly took hold of her and Sakura opened her eyes to find a shock of white hair. Suigetsu gave her a slightly apologetic smile.

“Sorry kid, it’s nothing personal.” he said as he hauled her over towards where his teammates sat around the open fire.

He dropped her onto the ground before them before going to sit on Juugo’s right, as though he were going to make sure the large man wouldn’t go further out of his way for her sake in the moments to come. The thought didn’t bode well with her.

Her transformed eyes swept over them, quickly averting her gaze when she caught sight of Sasuke’s own eyes staring her down. He stood and made his way towards her, making Sakura tense as she watched his approaching figure. She would not let him get one over on her with the Sharingan again.

“Loot at me, “ he ordered once he stopped a few paces before her.

Sakura set her chin defiantly as she kept her eyes glued to his movements, refusing to give him an edge. She was caught off guard when his hand sped forward so quickly that she was barely able to follow it and gripped her jaw tightly. He turned her to face him. She still refused to meet his eyes.

“I won’t repeat myself.” he warned as his grip tightened.

It was with great trepidation that she finally met his dark gaze with her own.

“Drop it.”

“No,” she replied stonily.

“Don’t test my patience. Drop the henge now.” he ordered.

“I refuse.” she bit back.

Red eyes narrowed dangerously at her words and without warning, Sakura felt a surge of his chakra force itself into her and disrupt the steady flow. A surprised gasp escaped her at the intrusion and the effects of the henge she’d been using were gone in an instant. Pink tresses cascaded over her shoulders as dark eyes lightened to jade. The bindings provided dug painfully into her skin as her body returned to normal.

Sasuke’s grip on her jaw tightened with bruising force before he thrust her head back against the wall. His chakra spiked dangerously as he raised fingertips of his free hand grew alight with lightning chakra. As his hand flew towards her, Sakura through her bound hands towards him with a small surge of her own and successfully knocked him back several feet. He landed in a crouch, red eyes narrowed dangerously just as Suigetsu came down on her. There was a brief glint of metal before Sakura was once again pinned to the wall as his blade curved around her neck.

“Now, I don’t know who you are or what you might’ve done to make Sasuke want to kill you, but I wouldn’t suggest moving. There’s a reason this blade is called Throat Cleaver and if you don’t quit acting out then I’m going to have to give you a first-hand experience and we wouldn’t want any pretty heads rolling today, would we?” he asked as he held the bladed lightly against her, ready to press forward and behead at any given moment.

“I don’t see why that should make any difference to you,” Sakura bit back, icily. Who cared what she did now? There was no way she’d escape with her life. “If you’re willing to defile a grave, than what sort of moral code would force you to stay your hand when it comes to killing me on the spot?”

A dark chuckle escaped him as his blade shifted, now biting into her neck. “So you know who this belonged to, then? Did you also happen to know that before Zabuza abandoned Hidden Mist that _I_ was training to become its next wielder? You can’t steal what was always meant to be yours.”

“Suigetsu, enough.” called Sasuke, the tomoe in his Sharingan activated. “Karin, deal with what remains of her chakra.”

The redhead immediately appeared over Suigetsu’s shoulder, a heavy scowl on her face as she narrowed her ruby eyes at the kunoichi before her.

“I _knew_ there was something off about you.” she said as she approached, her own fingertips alight with chakra as she finished forming hand seals and touched them to Sakura’s forehead. Sakura scowled but said nothing, choosing to show her anger through her eyes as the two kunoichi stared each other down.

A sharp pain raced through Sakura’s skull then, and she was quick to slump to the ground. Suigetsu drew back and shot Juugo a hard look when he stepped forward.

“Keep away, Juugo.” he warned.

“She’s in pain,” the giant man replied.

“She’s not your problem,” Karin hissed. “You’ve seen plenty of other people in pain, dying. Some of them because _you_ were the one to do it. What is watching her get a headache going to do to you?” Karin spat venomously. “What’s so different about her that you can’t stand the sight of her hurting? She lied to you, _used you_. And now that Sasuke’s exposed her for what she is, you’re still fretting over her!”

Juugo said nothing as he looked to Sakura with an unreadable expression on his face. The trapped kunoichi swallowed nervously beneath his gaze, feeling the sharp edge of Suigetsu’s blade press further into the exposed column of her throat. After a long moment, Juugo looked away as he steadfastly stared at the tiny pot of paste that rested nearby.

“Enough,” Sasuke said once more.

The moment Sasuke’s eyes met hers, the cave fell away. Sakura was left in a never ending expanse of darkness. Gone was the rush of water that hid the entrance of the cave from view, gone was the glow of the fire and his teammates.

Sakura was alone.


	5. Submergence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone who left kudos and a sweet note. I'm glad you're enjoying the story! Now, on with the chapter!
> 
> xx LCF

Suigetsu’s arms grew slack once the kunoichi’s eyes clouded over. There was no point in keeping his guard up; not when Sasuke pulled her into one of his genjutsu.

He leaned tiredly against the stone wall of the cave—a pensive frown tilted his lips at the Uchiha’s unusual actions. This was not the first time they’d had an outsider break into their ranks. In all actually, there had been a little less than a handful in the past few years since the war had commenced that had tried to spy on them and gather information. Taka was constantly being hunted down by the Allied Forces divisions due to being part of Akatsuki and because of their allegiance to Sasuke. But not once during all of those times had Sasuke stayed his hand or given them even the smallest chance to explain themselves. All it took was one look into his Sharingan and he would pull them into a dark abyss, never to resurface again.

So why would he hold back now?

Violet eyes looked to the pink-haired kunoichi before him. She was a pretty little thing— to him, at least. At first glance she was ridiculously feminine with her long pink hair and impossibly green eyes. He couldn’t blame her for using a henge to hide these features, they were a dead giveaway to her identity and would easily become a liability if she was targeted by an enemy. But as he studied her further, Suigetsu noted that despite the overly feminine exterior, she seemed to be quite capable of handling herself in lieu of the fact that she’d been critically injured only a few days ago by a band of Hunter-nin.

Suigetsu shook his head. Despite her petite frame and subtle curves, she was dangerous. He could see it properly now. A lean build that was good for stealth, and a killer set of arms that he was sure could punch his lights out if given the chance. She was skilled in chakra manipulation too; she had to be in order to have the control needed so that Karin with all her skills couldn’t tell that she’d been using a henge.

_ Speaking of the red witch… _

His eyes traveled over to the flame of red hair as she took a seat by the fire. She looked much more put off than usual, which left him wondering if he wasn’t the only one to take note of Sasuke’s unusual behavior. A wry smirk filled his lips at the thought.

“Strange one, isn’t she?” he mused aloud. “I wonder what it was about her that made Sasuke feel the need to place her in a genjutsu instead of just killing her.”

Karin said nothing as she threw him a dark glare before she focused her bespectacled eyes on the fire at her feet.

 

* * *

 

Green eyes opened briefly only to snap shut tightly again due to the blinding light of the sun.

The sounds of waves crashing reached her ears, and Sakura was acutely aware of the damp sand she was currently laid upon.  After a moment, she slowly opened her eyes once more, this time giving her pupils time to adjust themselves accordingly. Her eyes were sharp as they ran over the surrounding area, taking in every hauntingly familiar detail.

She was back on the beach that she’d washed up on, battered and bruised all those years ago.

She didn’t expect to see Sasuke standing atop an outcropping of rock about fifty yards away, overlooking the sea. He seemed relaxed, calm even, as he stood there. It was such a far cry from the person Sakura had encountered hours ago—if that. Who knew how long he’d kept her under the influence of his Sharingan?

With a small bit of effort on her part, she managed to push herself up with shaky arms, her legs standing uneasily for a moment before she regained a sense of balance. Sakura walked to Sasuke slowly, acutely aware that no matter how familiar the setting was, she was in a setting of his creation and despite the nonchalant composure, he was most likely scrutinizing every move she made.

It wasn’t until there were several feet of distance left between them that she stopped. Both were silent for a moment as Sasuke continued to look out upon the calm sea that had delivered her to safety all those years ago. Sakura stood behind him, her eyes trained on him in case he decided that her life was forfeit after all.

“What are you here for, Sakura?” he asked evenly, his dark gaze settling on her as he turned. He was as brusque as ever. It seemed that time had only honed that innate ability to get straight to the point.

Sakura remained still as she watched Sasuke for a moment. Green eyes took in the changes that six years—she hardly counted their last, and painfully brief encounter—had put between them. He was easily a head taller than her now, the ends of his slightly longer hair still stuck up at odd angles, but the bangs that had once been neatly groomed to frame either side of his face fell messily upon his forehead. The open collar of his shirt revealed a small bit of the lean muscle of his torso that was littered with an array of faint scars. Sakura briefly wondered how he’d gotten them. It was yet another reminder that though she’d known his childhood counterpart, Sakura truly had no idea of who he was now outside of what she’d heard of his ominous reputation. And even that had been nothing more than faint whispers in the wind.

“Nothing,” she finally replied. “I’m not here for anything, Sasuke. Not anymore.”

She refused to meet his gaze, opting instead to settle her viridian eyes on a particular scar that cut diagonally over his left clavicle.

A tense moment of silence passed between them.

Sakura could clearly recall days where silences like this failed to exist. Days during their short time together as genin where the air would be filled with her inane chatter and Naruto’s loud proclamations. Where all Kakashi ever did was sit back at the base of a tree and giggle every so often while he leafed through a familiar orange book while he had them complete grueling exercises that only Sasuke could keep up with.

She was so caught up in her own musings that she failed to take notice of Sasuke as he watched her intently, his dark eyes taking in every movement she made. It wasn’t until the world slowly began to melt away that she looked to him once more. But Sasuke had vanished, and with his disappearance the color, sounds, and smells of the genjutsu disappeared into nothingness.

Sakura stood still in the darkness, her body rigid with apprehension as she braced herself for whatever Sasuke had in store. There was a brief pause on her part, and suddenly the darkness around her exploded with images—memories, she realized—of the past three years of her life. Memories of lonely nights, her grief, and anguish all brought to the surface of her psyche and spread out before her for his perusal.

There was anger, there was self-pity, and there was spite. But underneath all of that was also steadfast determination that did not waver throughout the years of her self-imposed exile. As the years progressed before her, Sakura saw herself grow a steady resolve that took place in her heart and a determination to regain her status as a Konoha shinobi and return home. All she needed was a plan of action and a means to an end.

She would do whatever it took to make that happen.

The images stopped abruptly and within seconds, Sasuke was before her once again. His gaze bore down upon her evenly, giving her no room to ponder what he could possibly be thinking. The darkness that surrounded them slowly began to fade away, and before she knew it, Sakura was once again within the cave with four pairs of eyes glued to her.

She met Sasuke’s red eyes head-on and ignored the other three as she waited for some explanation that she knew would never come.

The silence was then broken by Karin as she pulled her own red gaze from the the pink-haired kunoichi and settled it on Sasuke seriously. There was no lilt to her voice, nor was there any other form of emotion. Seriousness was etched upon her features, her red brows pulled together as she looked at Sasuke intently.

“Sasuke,” she murmured in warning before she closed her eyes and brought her hands up to focus her chakra more carefully.

“Aa.” was all he said as he stood and began to make his way out of the cave with Juugo and Suigetsu following suit.

He paused before Sakura briefly, his blank face betraying no thought in his head. “You will remain here until I return.”

Green eyes narrowed indignantly. “How about you just let me go?” she bit back.

“Hn.” Was all he replied before he vanished through the curtain of water, leaving  Sakura to Karin.

 

* * *

 

Whatever Sasuke and his subordinates had gone after had clearly managed to get past them. They hadn’t been gone ten minutes when Sakura noticed the sudden mass of chakra signatures that appeared out of nowhere and were quickly heading in their general direction. She was unprepared when a white arm suddenly appeared out of the stone she was currently leaning back on and gripped her arm tightly, a pale face and yellow eyes the next things to emerge. Sakura wasted no time as she drove the elbow of her free arm into his face with some difficulty.

A pained grunt escaped the being and the hand that held her instantly let go. Before she had a second of reprieve, the large mass of chakra suddenly materialized only a few yards from the cave with each of the signatures just as identical and malevolent as the last. Sakura grit her teeth angrily as she pulled at her restraints. Unless she managed to get a hold of her weapons pouch that was nestled at Karin’s feet, there was no way she was going to be able to be free to defend herself. Just as she was about to blatantly call out the red-haired kunoichi and give the tart a piece of her mind, the mass of chakra outside disappeared without a trace, and Sakura knew that that couldn’t be a good sign.

“Shit,” was all she managed to say before they instantly surrounded them.

Sakura shot up just a handful lunged for her, the sound of metal whizzing through the open air reached her ears before she could dodge. She was surprised when she felt the binds on her ankles fall away. Disbelieving eyes landed on Karin’s form as she sent another wave of kunai at the white mutations.

“Well what the hell are you standing there for?” Karin bit out harshly, narrowly avoiding one as it  _ snapped  _ at her neck like a rabid animal.

Sakura wasted no time as she promptly jumped in the air, looping her arms under her legs easily and allowing her hands to now be situated in front of her as opposed to her back. One of the white things came at her then, and she did not hesitate in clobbering them on the temple with her brute strength, sending it crashing into the wall. Just because she didn’t have her chakra at her expense didn’t mean that she couldn’t pummel these atrocities without some ease. Sakura leapt as two charged her at a time, making sure to bring down her heel on one of their heads. She knew she hit her target when she felt a sickening crack as its skull caved beneath her boot-clad heel. She wasn’t too far from the mouth of the cave, and as she quickly tossed another white figure over her shoulder, Sakura did not hesitate before running out past the curtain of water and diving head first into the pool of water just on the other side.

“Yo, kunoichi!” came a loud cry, and suddenly Suigetsu barreled through the canopy of trees with his large blade swinging violently about and decapitating several white figures that had made a beeline towards her. He came to a stop on the water close to where she had surfaced, sharp teeth exposed in a smirk.

“So what’s my prize for saving the damsel in distress?”

Sakura shot him an incredulous look. “I was  _ not  _ in distress.”

Suigetsu snorted at her offended expression. “Right, that’s why you’re in the water looking like a drowned kitten while those Zetsu were ready to gnaw your skin off.”

“I was observing them seeing as this is the first time I’ve ever laid eyes on one of those things!” she snapped before diving under once more and swimming to shore.

His bark of laughter reached her ears in the water, and as she dragged herself out, his body slowly re-solidified itself as he looked towards her.

“You know, I think I might come to like you Kitty. You’ve got spunk.” He grinned.

Sakura opened her mouth to reply with a nasty retort when there was a sudden crash. Karin sailed through the torrent of water that concealed the cave and landed sloppily on the surface of the pond before promptly slipping under. Sakura took immediate notice of the blood that was steadily dissipating in the water from an injury and on instinct, dove back in. She swam to her side quickly, landing a punch on another Zetsu that quickly approached Karin’s prone figure. Sakura swam faster towards the bottom of the quarry. Once she got to Karin, she looped an arm around her waist and kicked off the soft earth with as much might as she could muster and broke through the surface in just a few seconds.

She noticed Suigetsu had made his way towards them, his large blade glinting dangerously in the light as he swung it around the water with practiced ease. He sliced through two more of the white figures while Sakura checked over Karin’s injuries.

“Get. Off. Me.” the redhead hissed weakly as she fought off Sakura’s advances once she’d managed to drag them onto shore.

“Shut your mouth,” Sakura replied brusquely, her gaze clinical as she raised a hand to the gash on the other kunoichi’s temple and applied firm pressure to ease the steady flow of blood.

“Why are you doing this? In case you forgot, we’re Akatsuki. You know, part of the terrorist group that the other Nations are currently at war with. Or are you that desperate to become a traitor to them?” Karin spat.

Sakura’s hands froze on the spot. She immediately seized Karin by the collar of her soaked cloak, her grip causing the leather of her gloves to pull taught over her knuckles in a slight creak as her hands shook with barely restrained fury.

“You know  _ nothing _ of me or the things I’ve seen nor the tribulations I’ve faced. The only reason I bothered saving your life was because you did the same for me, whether you wanted me there or not. You could have easily turned me away when they brought me, but you didn’t. Trust me, if it weren’t for that I’d gladly leave you to your fate.”

Karin said nothing as she narrowed her red eyes in disdain.

“Hey you two, watch it!” hollered Suigetsu as he sliced his way through another Zetsu.

Sakura turned to catch another creature about to strike. She chastised herself for dropping her guard and was just about to give it a solid punch when Sasuke appeared before her and plunged his sword through its torso. Before she could even begin to grasp what had happened, the bindings on her wrists were cut away and his middle and pointer finger sent a surge of chakra into her system once more, overpowering and effectively breaking the seal that Karin had placed on her.

“Make yourself useful.” he ordered before cleanly slicking through another Zetsu in the next moment.

Sakura stood rigidly, her shoulder in line with Sasuke’s as she stood a few feet away. Already she could feel her chakra returning to her; feel the thrum of her power as it flooded her body.

“What are you playing at?” she asked as she delivered a chakra-laden kick to the face of an approaching Zetsu, sending it flying before it embedded itself in a nearby tree.

Sakura was unable to hear his response as more Zetsu came at her. She wove through them easily, dodging all their strikes fluidly and exchanged blows. Now that her chakra had returned, she only needed a single solid hit to render them immobile, of not kill them outright. The kunoichi deftly avoided another one of the figures before bringing her heel down in a chakra-enhanced strike that created a deep fissure in the earth and swallowed up not only her intended target, but several others that had been too close to her skirmish.

However, so caught up was she in her fight, that Sakura failed to note the dark eyes that carefully took in every move she made.

 

* * *

 

When it was all said and done all that was left was rubble, upturned trees, and the four shinobi that stood in the midst of it all.

Sakura pushed her unruly bangs away from her face as she ran a hand across her brow. It had certainly taken longer than she expected to eliminate all of them. It seemed like there was an endless supply of these monstrosities, because with every one that Sakura took down; three more were soon in its place. But eventually they managed to come out triumphant and Sakura found herself coming to terms with the fact that now was probably a good a time as ever to take her leave.

Surging chakra to her legs, she wasted no time in taking off towards the east. She mentally cursed when she felt three signatures on her tail before they blipped out of existence. Warily, Sakura dropped down onto the ground and bolted through the trees. She wasn’t surprised when she came face-to-face with Sasuke.

“What?” she bit out as she stopped a few feet from him.

“You’re coming with me.”

“Like hell I am!” Sakura bit back.

Immediately she heard Suigetsu and Karin land just a few yards away from her, effectively trapping her within their triangular formation.

“There’s no option,” Sasuke continued as he approached.

He stopped several paces before her, and Sakura was truly able to take in just how much taller than her he was now. Slightly unsettled with the fact that she had to crane her neck back just to be able to get a good view of him, Sakura ignored the unsteady rhythm of her hear as it pounded in her ears, determined not to let him get the best of her. He would  _ not  _ intimidate her into doing his bidding. She wouldn’t allow it.

“You’ll be of use to me in the future.”

Green eyes narrowed viciously at his words. “You’re not letting me go because I’m suddenly useful to you?” she raged. “What about what  _ I  _ want?”

“I know what it is you want, Sakura. You want to go  _ home. _ ” Sasuke said harshly, his voice dripping with venom and a cynical type of sarcasm at the mention of Konoha. “You want to return to that pathetic excuse for a village and be with your friends, but you know you can’t do that if Danzou is still in control.”

_ Damn him. Damn him and his stupid red eyes. _ She thought fiercely.

It wasn’t fair how he could pull her under with the power of his dojutsu and could go through every single thought that ran through her head and pick apart every desperate wish and desire in her heart. Petite hands clenched tightly to restrain the growing urge to knock him on his ass.

“I’m going to kill Danzou. Join me, and you can go back to your village when it’s done.”

His statement left her silent as disbelieving eyes searched his for any semblance of a lie. She didn’t trust him, that was abundantly obvious, but she also couldn’t ignore the opportunity that dangled before her. To confront Danzou and figure out what he’d done to Tsunade, to be able to go home…

“What’s the catch?” she asked warily.

“You are to keep me alive no matter the cost.”

Sakura caught her lower lip between her teeth as her brows pulled together. There was more to this—of that she was sure. There was more behind his gaze than just wanting the demise of the Hokage. But what it was exactly, Sakura didn’t know. From the look of it, Sasuke was her best bet at getting to Danzou relatively unscathed, and even if that didn’t work out, she knew that staying by his side would guarantee her to come in contact with Naruto.

_ Naruto, _ she thought solemnly. This entire war had been waged partly in part to protect Naruto and any other remaining jinchuuriki. If she were to join forces with Sasuke’s team, not only would she presented with the chance to go home, but could also use every opportunity presented to her to keep them from finding him.

That last thought was all it took for her to make up her mind.

“I accept,” she said as her eyes stared into his unflinchingly.

She would do this, she would keep Naruto safe and she would return to where she truly belonged. If she could not take her stand among her friends and comrades, then she would support them in any way she possibly could. Sakura just hoped with all her might that she hadn’t set herself up for failure.


	6. A Matter of Convenience

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the delay! I had quite a few things happen over the holidays including a very serious family emergency. Thankfully, it's all ok now.
> 
> Thanks to everyone for the feedback and for the kudos! It truly means a lot!
> 
> xx LCF

It was dark when the four cloaked figures came to a stop. They stood atop the edge of a cliff and stared at the forest that extended as far as the eye could see. It was a long way down and the ground was barely discernible through the thick canopy of trees. The only open area for miles was on the ground directly below them.

“Karin, which way.” Sasuke asked as his red eyes scanned the forest below. Most likely for the camp Juugo had been instructed to set up.

“He’s at eight ‘o’ clock, about three kilometers from here.” she replied as she opened her eyes and lowered her hands.

Sakura had to admit that despite her dislike for the redhead, her abilities as a sensor were phenomenal. She herself still hadn’t managed to locate Juugo’s chakra signature, and by the looks of the others, she wasn’t the only one.

Sasuke merely nodded before he proceeded to walk over the edge of the cliff with Suigetsu quickly in tow. A soft  _ pop _ filled the air as a giant shadow suddenly shot up to the sky, obscuring the moon for the briefest second before it flew closer. In the moonlight, Sakura took note of the giant hawk as it swooped down with Sasuke on its back. Summons and its master landed close to the two kunoichi that remained on the clifftop.

While it seemed that Suigetsu was content with making his own way down the side of the cliff, Karin apparently thought it to be too much trouble. The redhead quickly turned on her heel and walked over to where Sasuke’s hawk had landed before promptly getting on its back. Sakura watched the scene with quiet amusement before she caught sight of Sasuke. He inclined his head towards her, as though he were extending an invitation to her as well.

Scowling, Sakura promptly walked over the edge of the cliff and let herself freefall. She welcomed the undeniable rush of adrenaline that surged in her veins because of her descent. The speed of the dive pushed her hood back, allowing her long ponytail to billow out behind her. As the ground approached at alarming speeds, Sakura assumed a diving position and gathered chakra from the palm of her hands up to her elbows. The moment her palms touched the ground, she dispersed her chakra throughout her body like a wave and used her momentum to roll forward into a crouch.

She heard an appreciative whistle as she stood, and turned to see Suigetsu jumping down the last ten feet of the cliff.

“That was pretty awesome, Kitten. You sure got balls, don’t you?” he grinned.

Sakura raised a shoulder in a half-shrug. “I didn’t want to seem incapable of getting down by myself.”

Suigetsu let out a bark of laughter before Karin and Sasuke suddenly touched down several yards from them, the hawk nowhere in sight.

“What’s  _ that _ supposed to mean?” Karin snapped as she approached them.

“Whatever you want it to,” Sakura threw over her shoulder, already making her way through the underbrush and in the direction Karin had previously pointed out. Another appreciative laugh could be heard before Suigetsu muttered something unintelligible.

Sakura didn’t bother to stay long enough to find out what it was.

 

* * *

 

“Quite a spitfire, isn’t she?” Suigetsu remarked offhandedly as his violet eyes remained trained on the pink haired girl as she disappeared into the woods.

“I don’t see what’s so special.” Karin bit out, livid. There was something very close to jealousy mixed into her tone as she marched over and planted herself firmly at Sasuke’s side.

Sasuke said nothing as he silently followed the medic, his own gaze boring into the back of Sakura’s head. He ignored the sudden grin that the former Mist-nin threw at him before his lead along with Karin’s angry huffs.

 

* * *

 

About ten minutes into her walk, Sakura caught the faint scent of smoke and cooking meat. Licking her dry lips, she crept further into the forest. It was completely dark save for the spots in the canopy overhead where the moonlight would pour in, so her vision was extremely limited. She heard the others trailing behind her, Suigetsu’s rough voice filling the night air with obscenities whenever he tripped over the protruding roots.

Biting back the urge to chuckle at his expense, Sakura pressed onward and broke through the dense brush before stumbling into a cramped clearing. The first thing she saw was Juugo’s large form hovering over a fire, his eyes snapped over to her entrance, but he remained by their cooking meal. The warm light of the fire washed over her and the smell of cooking meat assaulted her nose. Her stomach growled suddenly, and the small twitch to Juugo’s lips was more than enough confirmation that he’d heard it.

Mortified, Sakura gathered what little dignity she could as she made her way over to the giant. “That smells good.”

“Here,” he said as he handed her a skewer. “They should be ready now.”

Sakura gave a small smile of thanks and took a bite just as Suigetsu stumbled in, a fuming Karin not far behind.

“You’re so fucking stupid!” she snarled before she punched him violently, his head splattering on the ground. Sakura set her dinner down on the pseudo-plate she had made for herself at the sudden loss of appetite.

“Aw, now look what you’ve done Red. You’ve made Kitten lose her appetite and she hasn’t eaten a thing in forever.” Suigetsu quipped, his reformed head reattaching itself to his neck and shoulders. He leered at Sakura, pointed teeth gleaming in the firelight as he snickered at Karin’s angry sputters.

“Does it look like I care?” the bespectacled kunoichi seethed.

“Suigetsu, Karin, that’s enough.” Sasuke drawled as he walked into the clearing, effectively ending their argument. He inclined his head slightly to Juugo as he walked over to the open fire and came to a stop where Sakura was seated.

“Is there something you need?” she asked as her eyes met his.

“You’ll eat to keep up your strength. If you’re not strong then you’re useless to me.” He said, his intense stare giving her goosebumps.

A scowl made its way onto Sakura’s face, clearly displeased with his order, but more so for letting his countenance affect her the way it did. She hadn’t seen him in so long, and thought of him even less so. Trying to survive every day for the past three years was strenuous and mind-jarring enough, Sakura hadn’t wanted to add the extra emotional baggage that thinking of him would bring. But if she were completely honest with herself, she’d admit that there were more than a few occasions where his visage would appear in her mind’s eye if only for a few seconds. And now he knew it too—had seen it for himself when he’d forced himself into her memories. The knowledge made the already angry flush on her face grow hotter with embarrassment.

However, when she  _ had  _ thought of him, it was when she was either very angry or very upset. They were hardly romantic fantasies. The fight for her survival far eclipsed anything else.

It did little to appease her flaming cheeks.

The fact of the matter was that whether she wanted to admit it or not, Sasuke still meant a great deal to her. The question was, just how much in light of everything that’s happened? Did she still care about him the way she had after everything that’s happened? After she caught wind of his infamous reputation?

She wasn’t quite sure.

There were too many things left unseen, and despite the small twelve-year-old part of herself that was undeniably happy to be at his side once more, she couldn’t ignore the unease that settled in her stomach everything she so much as looked at him. He was so different, and yet hauntingly familiar.

Shaking her head, Sakura looked over to where Sasuke sat eating his meal before turning to watch the other members of Taka.

Suigetsu and Karin had started up another fight while Juugo tried to placate them. However, the fight quickly turned physical as Karin threw a punch that Suigetsu evaded. He exploited her unbalanced position as he took hold of her still-extended arm and twisted it to the small of her back, his forearm coming around and crushing her windpipe as he held her steadfast. The redhead snarled, kicking wildly as she fought to free herself.

Sakura wondered when Sasuke was going to be forced to step in, but before she could glance at him, a sinister cackle suddenly erupted from Juugo. Only, he didn’t look like himself. His skin was covered in rough-looking scales, and his eyes burned yellow in the firelight. The undeniable thirst for blood was evident in his aura and his chakra was suddenly a chaotic mass. He let out another piercing laugh before he lunged for the tussling pair.

“Shit!” Suigetsu swore, shoving Karin away from him as he reached for the sword strapped to his back.

Before he could swing, Juugo’s large arm successfully connected and knocked him back. His yellow eyes were trained on the redhead on the ground.

“ _ You’re it for today!” _ he growled, his arm suddenly morphing into a giant mallet. He brought it down with incredible speed and barely missed Karin as she moved out of his line of fire.

The kunoichi rolled off to the side once more before she shot to her feet and ran to where Sasuke sat. Juugo was hot on her heels, his mallet-arm brought up as he prepared to swing once more. Sakura watched as Sasuke reached to unsheath his blade and shot forward immediately. She couldn’t allow him to hurt Juugo, not when it was clear that the larger man was not in his right state of mind.

“Don’t!” the cry erupted from her throat as she rushed towards him, her gloved hands catching hold of Juugo’s arms and putting and end to his onslaught.

He snarled as he used his momentum to drive himself forward. Gritting her teeth, Sakura locked into her stance and surged chakra to her arms and legs, determined to keep him immobile. The boost made it easy for her to overpower him and soon both were at a standstill. Sweat rolled down her temple, her arms trembled with exertion—she was definitely out of practice—when she felt Sasuke approach. She chanced a glance at him to find his Sharingan spinning wildly into Juugo’s eyes. It didn’t take long before the man suddenly slumped against her hold. Sakura caught him without missing a beat. The scales that covered him glowed brightly as they receded, the sight pulling at her memories regarding the raven-haired man at her side.

Once Juugo was back to his normal self, Sakura let go of his arms and he immediately fell to his knees. Concern washed over her as he clutched his hair wildly, his eyes clenched shut as he rocked himself.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. I’m sorry.” he chanted.

“Juugo, I—” she started, her hand rubbed soothing circles into his back. To think that just moments ago, the broken man before her had been so determined to kill Karin and completely unrecognizable.

“Leave him,” Sasuke said tonelessly as a hand shot out and grabbed her arm like a vice.

“Sasuke, he needs—”

“I said to leave him.” he repeated before he nodded to Suigetsu to attend to the large man.

Sasuke spared no one else a glance as he hauled Sakura tōttowards the forest, ignoring how she stumbled behind him the entire way through. He had yet to relinquish his hold on her until they were well out of earshot and prying eyes.

“What the hell was that for?” Sakura bit out as she wrenched her arm out of his grasp. His silhouette was barely discernible through the shadows the canopy provided.

“You will not interfere when Juugo is in the middle of his cursed seal transformation. He’s an entirely different person from the person you know, and he won’t hesitate to kill you should you get in his way.”

Sakura was incredulous. “Cursed Seal? You mean that Orochimaru gave him one as well? Does everyone in Taka have one?”

“No, the only ones were myself and Juugo. And Juugo did not receive Orochimaru’s cursed seal, he was the basis for it.”

Green eyes widened in surprise. Juugo was the origin of the power the snake sannin had perverted. The proverbial goose and his condition was Orochimaru’s golden egg. His was instrumental in the creation of the vile mark Orochimaru had bestowed upon Sasuke in the Forest of Death, there was no doubt about it. Already Sakura could imagine all the torture and experimentation he’d been forced to endure at his hands. And he’d been born with it?

A man of his gentle nature? It was no wonder his sanity was barely holding on by a hair’s breadth.

“Are you kidding me? That’s even more reason for me to be around him. He needs help! Did you see the turmoil he was in just now? Did you see just how frail his psyche was when he returned to normal? He’s unstable, which is—”

“Why you’ll keep your distance should he be overcome by his urge again. He has nearly killed us many times over the past three years since I’ve formed Taka, we know how to handle him. Do not meddle or I will remind you of your place.” Sasuke warned.

“And what place is that, exactly?” Sakura seethed, fury burning in her eyes and laced in her tone.

“Whatever history we had is gone— the bonds that were once forged have been severed. Team Seven has been over for a long time, and I won’t hesitate to kill you if push comes to shove.” The blade of his chokutō suddenly bit into the soft skin of her neck, but Sakura wasn’t afraid. She could spot an intimidation tactic from a mile away and she wasn’t about to let him bully her into submission.

“You’re nothing more than a matter of convenience now. Don’t test my patience for you’ll find it very shortcoming.”

He removed the blade from her neck and instantly Sakura unleashed a wave of healing chakra to the minor cut, if only to show that he wouldn’t get to her so easily. She was no longer the frightened thirteen-year-old girl he and Naruto had to protect, the one who could barely hold her own against run of the mill thugs. She was the Godaime’s apprentice and a medical expert in her own right. She would not bow to him or anyone else.

“I hope you remember your words when time comes for me to heal you. Because when that time comes, your life will be in  _ my  _ hands.”

Sasuke was upon her in an instant, his Sharingan spun dangerously and glowed blood-red in the darkness of the forest. “Is that a threat, Sakura?”

“Yes,” she bit out as she foolishly met his gaze.

Sasuke sneered, and for a moment Sakura thought she would have to fight for her life, but after another handful of seconds passed, he turned on his heel and walked back to camp without sparing her a second glance.

_ Enough is enough, _ Sakura thought severely.

Green eyes slipped closed as she focused her chakra to the point on her forehead where she’d stopped feeding it to. Thankfully, she managed to maintain the chakra she’d stored before her defection so it wouldn’t take much more time if she started storing it once more. She could deal with having only half her chakra at her immediate disposal for the next few weeks. What she couldn’t deal with was not having the Byakugou if things turned sour and desperately needing it.

Sakura only hoped that she wouldn’t have to.

 

* * *

 

Upon returning to camp, Sakura had ignored Sasuke for the rest of the night. After their impromptu meeting, the pink-haired kunoichi had purposely walked over to Juugo. She placated the older man and was pleasantly surprised when he had allowed her to examine him. She had done a brief psych evaluation, nothing too probing, but enough for her to gather bits and pieces of knowledge in regards to how his mind worked. When she began the physical evaluation, she was surprised to find a chemical imbalance in his brain that reacted with increasing volatility to her probing.

Juugo for his part, had spoken to her the entire time she worked, answering any questions she had regarding his problem. After a good hour of her probing about, Sakura proceeded to write down all her findings in a small journal she kept within her medic pouch. She’d have to find the time to analyze the information, but for the time being she was only able to comfort the man.

“I’m very sorry for what I did.” Juugo mumbled quietly once she put the journal away.

Sakura gave him a comforting smile as her hand rested on his knee. “Don’t worry about it. It wasn’t your fault and it’s not like you can control when it’ll happen. I promise I’ll look into it when I have time and try to see if I can find anything in regards to your particular imbalance. If my hypothesis about it proves to be correct, I’m sure I can whip up something to help suppress the urges of eliminate them completely.”

“No, I don’t want to inconvenience you. You are here for Sasuke. I do not want you to stray from whatever goals you may have.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Sakura insisted, frowning at his words. “What I do on my own time is none of his concern.”

Juugo looked towards her then, his orange eyes taking in her tense posture before he looked across the clearing to where Sasuke sat in much the same manner. “Please don’t misunderstand. Sasuke has the best intentions.”

Sakura glanced at Juugo. “How can you say that? He’s been using his dojutsu as a way to keep your urges under control without care.”

A small smile bloomed on Juugo’s face. “I’m actually quite thankful for it.” he confessed.

His confession threw Sakura through a loop. Thankful? Juugo was  _ thankful _ ?

At her confused look, Juugo hastily added. “Please don’t misunderstand. I’m aware that Sasuke has to resort to using his Kekkei Genkai to keep my episodes at bay, but believe me when I say that his is the lesser of two evils.”

“Several years ago, I went to Orochimaru in the hopes that he’d be able to create some kind of cure for my ailment.”

“And instead he used you to create his own.” Sakura finished. Juugo nodded silently to her interruption.

“Yes. Orochimaru took advantage of a boy desperate for peace and made him the progenitor for what would become the Cursed Seal. Though my time with him was not pleasant, there were small moments where I found the peace I sought. Those fleeting moments grew once I met Kimimaro, and when he was gone, they returned when Sasuke asked me to join him.”

Sakura remained silent as she absorbed what Juugo was telling her.

Despite his suffering, he was able to find those rare instances of peace while under Orochimaru’s ‘care’. His friendship with Kimimaro seemed to anchor him, and when he was gone, it seemed that Sasuke’s presence was enough to as well. But that begged the question; why Sasuke?

When Sakura voiced her question, she was surprised by the serene smile that quirked his lips.

“Because he is who Kimimaro gave his life for.”

Green eyes glanced over at the lone Uchiha where he sat against the trunk of a nearby tree. She was surprised to find his eyes on her already, but made sure to keep her face carefully blank before tearing her gaze away and returned to the conversation at hand.

 

* * *

 

They woke early the following morning. The sky was a deep indigo that lightened with each passing second as the moon still clung to its perch.

Sakura stretched within the confines of her sleeping bag, a muffled yawn escaping her as her arms reached skywards in a delicious stretch. Her fingers unexpectedly skimmed warm cloth and her eyes shot open, a frown marred her face when she saw Suigetsu grinning toothily at her.

“How about you stretch for me one more time, Kitten? I wouldn’t mind seeing you arch your back like that again.” He smirked.

Sakura threw him a disapproving frown as she clambered out of the nylon encasement and promptly rolled it up before re-attaching it to the straps of her travel bag. She pushed past him to see Juugo already awake and sitting on one of the boulders she had perched on the night before.

“Don’t be that way, Kitten.” Suigetsu mock-pouted, “I don’t want Karin to be the only girl I have to come in contact with. Not when there’s a much more appealing option from the fairer sex among us now.”

“My name is Sakura, not Kitten. And flattery will get you nowhere.” She bit back; watching as Suigetsu dropped his hurt act and sauntered over to her.

“Alright, so you’re not easily charmed then. Good to see a female that’s actually able to look past a devilishly handsome face and know how to take a joke.” She snorted at this. “Then again, you could just have horrible taste.”

“What do you want, Suigetsu?” she prompted.

“Oh, there are plenty of things I want Sa-ku-ra.” he leered. “Perhaps you should rephrase your question before I twist it into something I’m sure you’d gladly punch me for.”

She rolled her eyes when he suddenly grinned. “Had you going there for a second, didn’t I? But really, I don’t want to be stuck having to talk to  _ her. _ ” he continued.

“Then don’t talk to her. It’s really quite that simple.”

“But then it gets boring. Juugo is always talking to his animal friends, and Sasuke is practically a mute save for the few grunts he gives out on occasion. Sadly, Karin is the only form of entertainment I get around here, that is, until she pisses me off.”

“I see,” Sakura said slowly. He was far cruder than what she was used to, and definitely a lot more bloodthirsty, but his semblance to Naruto was uncanny in regards to his easy-going personality. In all actuality the volatile acquaintanceship he shared with Karin was very similar to the one that Naruto and she once shared in their earlier years as genin. Only Karin and Suigetsu’s were spurred on by a severe mutual dislike instead of the irritation that once ran through her at Naruto’s stupid antics.

Sakura sighed as she trudged past him and over to see Juugo. He greeted her with a shy smile she was quick to return before her eyes caught sight of the falcon nestled on his arm.

“He’s beautiful,” she breathed as the bird cocked its head in her direction and watched her with piercing yellow eyes.

Juugo nodded in agreement. “He’s been scouting the area since the time I woke up and let me know about what’s going on in the forest. It’s how I figured that this was a safe place to rest. There are no Zetsu and none of the armies are within at least a hundred kilometers from here. We’re currently in a safe-zone.”

A pensive frown curled her lip as she absorbed his words. If they were supposed to be Akatsuki, then why were they putting in so much effort to keep from being detected by the Zetsu? And why had a swarm attacked them back at the cave? There was something very peculiar going on.

Sakura was jarred out of her thoughts when Sasuke walked over to where they were congregated. “We leave in two minutes.”

The pinkette pointedly ignored him as she walked over to where the rest of her belongings laid strew about and began strapping them on quickly. Sakura was still incredibly angry with him, but she was also mad at herself for exploding the way she did. She’d threatened him, knowing that if it came down to it, he would wipe the floor with her easily. But she’d meant every word she had said, and she wouldn’t allow herself to to be taken as a simpering fool that would be at his beck and call.

She had accepted his offer for a chance to return home and to keep her loved ones safe. There was no going back now, even if she wanted to. With that thought, her resolve strengthened and she pulled on her traveling cloak before convening with the other members of Taka.

They were gone long before dawn’s first light.


	7. Half- Truths

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Firstly, I'm so sorry for how long this has taken in getting out to you guys. Life has been busy and hectic and I'm trying to get as much writing in as I can. Once again, a huge thank you for your kudos and comments. I appreciate it so much, and while I haven't been able to reply back to some, just know that I do read all of them. Now onto the chapter!
> 
> xx LCF

They had walked into a ghost town.

The village was nothing but ruins. Each structure had either been burned down or completely in shambles. The small farming village had been turned into nothing more than a pile of ashes and stone. Carts and stalls were overturned, making the rotting food that littered the ground bring in swarms of flies and vermin.

Sakura frowned as she stepped away from Taka and walked further down the street as her eyes searched for any casualties. She felt her stomach drop when she spotted the first corpse and nearly cringed as more and more began to appear. Once she caught sight of the first, the rest were instantly recognizable.

She knelt beside the first body, pushing back the grief that bubbled up in her chest to examine the remains properly.

“They did this… those white monstrosities.” she muttered as she stood over a half-mutilated woman. “They ravaged this entire village and left it bare. These people weren’t even ninjas, they were civilians and they didn’t stand a chance against those monsters!”

“This is what happens in war, Kitten. There are always casualties.” Suigetsu muttered with a disgruntled look on his face. He cleared the path of dead bodies but remained relatively nonplussed.

“Does this not bother you at all?” She snapped as she walked back over to the rest of Taka. Fury burned in her eyes as she stared Suigetsu down. She did not miss the stares she garnered from the remaining three-quarters of the group.

“Kitten, I’m ex-Mist. There’s hardly anything that phases me anymore.” He muttered, pushing past her and walking further into town.

Sakura cast his back an unbelieving look.He may have been a former Mist-nin, but to think that he was so desensitized to all the havoc that surrounded him—to think that _all_ of them were as nonplussed as they appeared to be—caused a tiny amount of her faith in humanity to die.

Green eyes turned to the rest of them, scrutinizing in their intensity. Karin had a petulant look on her face, nose upturned as she slowly started to make her way forward. Ruby eyes caught green and the sneer intensified.

“You really are pathetic if you can’t cope with the fact that things like this are bound to happen.” she said waspishly before walking away. Despite her words she made sure to keep herself in the very center of the cleared path, intent on not coming in direct contact with the corpses that Suigetsu had haphazardly cleared away.

Gloved hands clenched angrily, but Sakura said nothing. She didn’t even spare a glance at Sasuke as he passed; her eyes were fixated on the massacre before her. A large hand suddenly settled on her shoulder and Sakura turned to see Juugo looking at her grimly.

“They did not deserve this, Sakura-san.”

“No, they didn’t.” She agreed before stalking off angrily, a plan already formulating in her head.

Someone had to lay these people to rest.

 

* * *

 

Unsurprisingly, aside from Juugo, no one was willing to participate in Sakura’s act of kindness. Karin had immediately dismissed the notion with a petulant glare and a sneer. Suigetsu had only given them a tight grin before turning away and walking into the woods. And Sasuke had merely shot them a bland expression before stating that they would set up camp in the town’s outskirts.

Several hours later, that was how Sakura found herself transporting linen-wrapped bodies to the large harvested fields just east of the village. It was sad to see that their crops were doing so well and that these people who could have had a prosperous year were reduced to nothing more than unrecognizable cadavers. It helped put things further into perspective for her. If Madara had managed to do this even while there was still a chance that they could overtake him, what would happen should he actually win the war?

Sakura tried her best not to think about that.

“Sakura-san, this should be the last one.” Juugo said, bringing over a small shrouded figure and setting it down gently.

“Thank you, Juugo. It means a lot.” She muttered, her eyes taking in just how many bodies they had compiled. There were so many. _Too many_.

The sun dipped low in the sky now and Sakura knew that they had to move quickly to reduce the chances of being discovered. The bodies were a little over two weeks old, but neither wanted to gamble with the chance of dealing with a stray Zetsu or a scout.

“These Zetsu, what are they exactly?” she asked once they were fully prepared for the fire.

“I’m not entirely sure,” Juugo said. “I know that they are clones from an original member of Akatsuki, Zetsu, the thing—person—that was encased in a plant. He’s split between black and white, but also has the ability to split himself apart and get out of the plant. He travels very quickly and seems to lurk everywhere and nowhere at the same time.”

Sakura frowned slightly. “It seems like you have had several encounters with him; both with the original and the clones.”

“Both have given us much trouble, even before the war.” Was Juugo’s only reply before he stood up. “It’s beginning to get dark. We should hurry if we don’t want to be seen.”

Sakura nodded in agreement. She walked over to the large boulder they had moved there and set down the incense that she had picked up in one of the small convenience stores where they had found the shrouds. Once the incense began burning, Sakura began running through the seals of a basic fire jutsu. As she brought her hand to her mouth, she released the flames and watched them easily catch on the linen. It wasn’t long before the corpses were alight.

She bowed her head and gave these men, women, and children a moment of silence and paid her respects.

_I’m so sorry this happened to you._

As she opened her eyes, she saw Juugo with his head bowed as well, giving his condolences.

There was a slight movement in the forest behind him that caught her attention, and her hand instinctively hovered over her kunai holster. She braced herself for the intruder, when Suigetsu suddenly walked out followed shortly by Karin and Sasuke. The three made no move to get closer than the shadows of the forest, but remained nonetheless.

No one said anything. They all just stood and watched the fire burn.

 

* * *

 

They were packed and ready to move on the following morning, only pausing long enough to make a quick run into the village to gather supplies that could be salvaged from the debris.

Sakura walked down the trodden path alongside Suigetsu, who kept himself busy by whistling a jaunty tune with his arms folded behind his head. She watched him from the corner of her eye, trying to figure out how this man with his devil-may-care attitude morphed into someone who paid respects to the dead. Perhaps it was all a façade on his part.

“You know Kitten, if you keep looking at me as often as you have been I’ll have to assume the worst. And by worst I mean the best, if you catch my drift.”

Sakura rolled her eyes. “It’s nothing. I’m just trying to wrap my head around what happened last night.”

“What _did_ happen last night?” he asked wryly, a suggestive leer plain on his face.

Sakura shot him a bland look. “I’m talking about the fire.”

“Ah yes, you and Juugo’s stunt. You always have to be the good guy, don’t you?” Suigetsu asked.

“I suppose I do,” Sakura confirmed. “But you still haven’t answered my question.”

The white-haired man let out a small sigh. “Look Kitten, just because we’re not good guys doesn’t mean we’re _that_ bad. Assholes? Sure. Inconsiderate? Definitely. But I’d like to think that we haven’t stopped so low as to spit on innocent people’s corpses.”

“What?” he inquired once he caught sight of Sakura’s slight smirk.

“You know, I don’t think your as much of a heartless killer as you try to make yourself seem.”

The former Mist-nin scoffed at her statement. “Trust me Kitten, if you’d have met me three years ago, one of use would surely be dead by now. I wasn’t as nice to pretty girls then as I am today.”

Sakura still had her doubts but decided to drop the subject. As they walked further into the village, Suigetsu shot a cheeky grin over his shoulder.

“After some time, Juugo tend to rub off on you. Even if it’s just a little.”

The pink-haired kunoichi smiled at him but said nothing. Together, they along with the rest of Taka made their way throughout the village, gathering what supplies would be of use to them in the coming weeks. It was the last thing they needed to do before taking their leave as they already gathered as much of the harvest as they could carry. The food they’d picked would serve them well in the upcoming days of travel and would help ease the burden if only a little.

Sakura walked about and found an infirmary easily. She made her way around the tiny clinic with caution, her eyes examining everything in stock and looking for anything she could use. There were soothing balms which would do well when healing with chakra wasn’t absolutely necessary, along with some pain medication, bandages, and antiseptics. It wasn’t the standard grade of what she was used to, but it was the best she was able to get her hands on in the longest time. Once she was sure that there was nothing else that could be of use to her in the foreseeable future, Sakura re-secured her medical pouch and made her way back to the others.

As walked to the meeting point there was a flare of unfamiliar chakra that caught her attention. She wasn’t the only one who had noticed because in the next second, both Sasuke and Suigetsu blew past her and after the source of the flare.

“What’s going on?” she asked Karin as she and Juugo caught up to her. Sakura had been several meters ahead of Taka.

The redhead frowned. “We were being watched, I suppose that your little stunt from last night was what drew them here.”

“Is it one of those Zetsu?” Sakura inquired.

“No,” she replied hotly. “For one they don’t tend to go off on their own. They usually keep in clusters like the one that attacked us back in the cave. Also they’re not afraid to engage in combat. They have no feeling of fear or remorse, they only know to kill.”

“So that only leaves two viable options. Either a rogue—”

“—or a scout.” Sakura finished before she bolted after them.

 

* * *

 

By the time Sakura, Juugo, and Karin caught up with Sasuke and Suigetsu, they were already too late. Both men stood before a collapsed figure that bore the white mask of ANBU. Sakura made her way closer to them, instantly recognizing the symbols as that of Root division.

“What happened?” she asked.

“Bloody coward killed himself is what happened.” Suigetsu huffed.

“Not surprising given that he’s Root. He probably had classified information that would endanger either the Allied Forces or Danzou. The way they’re trained, they’d rather die before having such information extracted from them.” Sakura said before reaching forward and removing the mask.

_Not Sai,_ she thought as she gave a tiny prayer of thanks when an unknown face greeted her.

Sakura then pried his mouth open and ignored Suigetsu and Karin’s disgusted cries when thick, black goop dribbled out.

“Definitely poison,” she murmured before shoving her fingers into his mouth to feel around. A grim expression filled her features when she realized his tongue was missing. He most likely bit off his own tongue before ingesting a suicide capsule.

Sakura looked up to see Sasuke watching her intently. “I want to examine the remains.”

“What the hell for? If Danzou was thorough enough to train them to kill themselves in order to withhold information, what’s to say that he wasn’t as thorough about their secrets?” Karin pointed out.

“We aren’t trying to divulge the secrets of their jutsu. What we’re trying to do is see what nature has to offer. I can run an autopsy on him and try to figure out what his living situation was. If I can do that, then there’s a chance that we’ll be one step closer to finding Danzou’s whereabouts.” Sakura explained.

“Do it,” Sasuke ordered as his eyes bored into her own. “Karin will assist you in whatever needs to be done.”

“What?” Karin shrieked. “You cannot be serious! It’s bad enough to have her come along. Now I have to work with her?”

“You’ll do as you’re told or I’ll leave you behind. The choice is yours.”

His harsh words effectively silenced Karin, and for a brief moment Sakura felt bad for the kunoichi. It was glaringly obvious that this woman would do what she could to remain by Sasuke’s side and it was far too easy for Sakura to empathize. Her younger self would have done everything she could, too. 

_“So please… Stay with me.. Or take me with you if you can’t stay here…”_

Sakura was pulled from her memory when she felt the other woman’s eyes on her. Karin’s red eyes were narrowed to slits as she looked at hir with utter disdain. Sakura brushed her off before she turned her attention to the other two males of Taka. She didn’t want to look at Sasuke.

“Juugo, Suigetsu, see if you can find somewhere to do the autopsy, the village won’t be suited for it. If Root came across us because of the fire, then chances are that others might have caught onto our trail too. Karin, go with them and set up a boundary so we can work properly and without threat.”

The kunoichi looked just about ready to burst in anger when she caught sight of Sasuke’s dangerous gaze. A hand flew up to her chest before she swiftly turned on her heel and stomped after Juugo and Suigetsu.

When the three disappeared into the forest, Sakura belatedly realized that she was now alone with Sasuke with nothing more than the body of a dead man between them. She chose to ignore him as best she could, opting to focus her chakra to begin a preservation jutsu she’d managed to perfect during her exile. Her hands flew through the seals before her left hand immediately became encased in a deep emerald glow. Once she was satisfied with the saturation of chakra in her hand, Sakura then placed it upon the Root member’s forehead, using her right hand to focus the flow of her chakra. She begrudgingly allowed her eyes to slip closed, hyper aware of Sasuke’s presence.

She still did not trust him. In fact, ever since their argument in the forest following Juugo’s outburst, she figured they had backtracked on whatever progress that had been made. Not that it was something she could help. She wasn’t someone he could order about at his whim. Taka was a different story. He was the head of their team, and as much as they all seemed to clash on the outside, each of the members were as devoted to him as the next, though in varying degrees. But Sakura was not part of Taka. He had offered her a chance to return to her home— there was a mutual benefit from a seemingly similar goal. As far as she was concerned, that made her a partner, not a teammate or subordinate.

_You know that’s a lie_ , the inner workings of her mind whispered. Sakura ignored it completely.

She executed the rest of the jutsu with little difficulty despite her errant mind. Once Sakura cut off her chakra, she stood, ignoring the eyes that followed her every movement.

“His body has been stabilized; now all we need is for the others to find a decent spot to begin.”

“You have completely ceased the decomposition of his body.”

Surprised, Sakura turned to find Sasuke observing the cadaver. His red eyes watched what remained of her chakra as it halted the decomposition of cells down to a molecular level. She inwardly berated herself for forgetting the fact that he could easily see through her jutsu— that he was able to follow her chakra and study it, learning all that he needed.

_Damn those eyes of his_ , she thought fiercely. _At least he doesn’t have on third of the chakra precision it would take to carry out a jutsu so delicate and temperamental._

Still, it did little to assuage her unease. Sakura had always been a firm believer that with knowledge came power, and she feared that she had just added more ammunition to the arsenal of Sasuke’s already frightening capabilities. Because it didn’t matter if he didn’t have the control to successfully pull off her preservation technique, it didn’t mean that he hadn’t paid attention to the ebb and flow of her chakra as it navigated throughout the man’s body. If the Root had been alive, there would have been a multitude of ways for her to take him down and kill him on the spot with her jutsu and Sakura was sure that Sasuke could see the possibilities just as clearly as she could.

“It’s something I managed to assimilate during the past few years of running.” She finally said. “Just because I was forced to leave my duty and apprenticeship didn’t mean that I could stop learning what I could, when I could. Most of everything I’ve learned since then has been through trial and error.”

“It’s far more advanced than the one Orochimaru had created.” Sasuke said, his red eyes still following the pattern of her chakra as it maneuvered throughout the corpse’s tissue and chakra network.

_That_ caught her attention.

“You watched Orochimaru perform autopsies?” Sakura asked before she could stop herself.

Red eyes flickered over in her direction before returning his clinical gaze on the corpse at his feet. “He supposed that it was a good method to show me the inner workings of the human body. I was often present during his or Kabuto’s autopsies. They would often try to have me give audience to their experimentations, but their sadistic curiosity was a waste of my time.”

Sakura frowned. Why was he telling her this? Sasuke had never been one to speak first, much less as much as he had. He often said only what needed to be said before regressing to mere grunts if he even deigned to respond to your inquiry at all. She watched him aptly as he continued to assess the body, her gaze now assessing _him_ as she searched for any kind of foul play to be had. Not that she found anything. Sasuke had always been frustratingly good at covering himself up with the best shroud of indifference.

She was prepared to grill him on what he’d seen when she felt the remaining three-fourths of Taka approaching.

“They’re here,” she announced as she stood to meet the others.

“Aa.”

 

* * *

 

It wasn’t much long after their return that the group of five (or six, depending on how you saw it) made their way towards the stone grotto that was hidden in the large foothills just on the border of Fire. How Suigetsu had managed to find it, Sakura would never know, but it was there where Sakura found herself prepping the body and giving instructions to a less-than-pleased Karin. The pair of kunoichi sat near the entrance of the grotto, allowing the natural light give them have ample illumination in which to work in. Once all three were ready, Sakura turned her eyes to the men of Taka.

“You either need to get out or stay out of our way. Sasuke, I’d advise you to follow our movements with your Sharingan in case you can see any hidden chakra traps we might trigger. I highly doubt the seal on his tongue was the only thing Danzou planted on him.”

Sakura was quietly surprised when he merely nodded. Her surprise was visibly reflected on Suigetsu’s face as he openly gaped at the Uchiha.

“Seriously, how did you do that?” he gawked. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him get ordered around without some kind of rebuttal.”

“Suigetsu, just shut up.” Sakura hissed. She didn’t need Sasuke to get irritated since he would most likely either opt to kill the former Mist-nin or not assist her with his eyes. “Get ready Karin, we’re starting.”

“Humph,” the kunoichi frowned as she took her place on the other side of the corpse.

Taking a breath, Sakura gathered chakra to her right hand and watched as the blue glow around it tapered off at the edges. She glanced at Karin and was glad to see that the other kunoichi was able to follow along with her instructions accordingly. She truly did have superb control given that this was her first attempt at the scalpels, though it seemed that hers weren’t quite as refined as Sakura had hoped they would be. No matter.

“Alright, now make the incision at his shoulder and take it in about three inches deep. Good. Now take the incision diagonally until you reach the center of the sternum. Watch as I do.” Sakura instructed; her movements steady as she showed her the matter in which to make the first incision.

Karin mimicked her movements slowly, only stopped once by Sakura when her hand came down with wrist at an angle. “Keep your hand completely vertical otherwise the cuts will be too shallow. If you had more precise control you’d be able to further extend the scalpel to dig deep enough, but since you don’t this is the most effective way.”

The redhead said nothing as she glared at Sakura before fixing her position to get a better incision. The differences was like night and day, and Sakura was pleased to know that she was able to move along the body with greater ease.

“Good,” Sakura praised once Karin’s incision met with hers at the very center of the breast bone. “I’ll take this incision down to the pubic bone. Make sure you have the snebon ready by the time I’m finished.”

Her chakra flared to life once more as she made the next cut, pink brows furrowed in concentration. She carefully dragged down her hand, making sure not to get in too deep and accidentally sever any internal organs that might be necessary to her search. Once she got to the base of his pelvic bone, she ceased her chakra flow and looked up to Karin in anticipation. The other kunoichi handed her a senbon grudgingly, her face twisted in a grimace as she watched Sakura pull back the flesh.

“That’s disgusting,” she breathed, keeping her red eyes diverted as she continued handing Sakura more senbon.

“Don’t worry, I’m done. You’re free to take your leave if you like.” Sakura absentmindedly said, not noticing Karin’s petulant look before she glimpsed at the open cadaver. The bespectacled girl blanched slightly before she promptly turned on her heel and walked out of the grotto, uncharacteristically silent as Suigetsu’s snickers resounded in the small cave.

Sakura ignored them all as she set to work. With a single breath, she delved her hands into the depth of his insides and started to feel around.

 

* * *

 

Karin crept through the underbrush silently, making her way southwest of the grotto where Sakura had begun performing her autopsy of the fallen Root. Her nose wrinkled in disgust at the thought. How that pink-haired hussy had the stomach for it, she didn’t know, but it’d certainly done her no favors. She had been Orochimaru’s subordinate! She’d even tried a dab hand at his experimentations! To think that she’d been so disgruntled by the sight of a man with his internal cavity exposed that she had to leave before she threatened to vomit was just ridiculous. So why did the sight of some dead guy’s innards bother her so much?

To make matters worse, it seemed that it only added more to the comparative figures Sasuke wasn’t even aware he was creating. Karin had taken notice of the way he watched the pinkette; they way they _all_ watched her. A growl escaped her at the thought. All of this was exceedingly frustrating for her. For the past three years she’d been the only woman Sasuke had needed in his life. Of course he’d never taken to her advances, much less encouraged them, but there had been a silver lining in the fact that he had not yet told her to cease like he did during those rare moments where other females were present and trying to put a move on him. But now there was another kunoichi with whom she had to share his attentions with and it was becoming increasingly obvious that Sasuke was getting more invested in his tool than he usually did.

The thought was enough for her to sneer at the unperturbed foliage that surrounded her.

_It shouldn’t be much farther now,_ she thought as she made her way to the exact spot where the chakra signature she’d noticed suddenly blinked out. It had first caught her attention when she was away from the grotto and out of shouting distance from the others. It was a tiny blip, so miniscule that no one else noticed. Figuring that she could do some investigating while the other were occupied, Karin had set off, silently heading to where the chakra had disappeared from existence. Once she got to the location, she saw that there were no signs of life. The small clearing had no signs of _anything_.

“I’d been so sure, too.” she muttered after a few moments of trying to relocate the chakra signature in vain. An impatient huff escaped her as she whirled around and proceeded to make her way back to the others.

“Sure of what?” came a voice, and suddenly she felt _him_.

Ice shot through her veins with dread as she watched his masked hear creep out of her stomach before he came to stand before her.

“Madara,” She whispered, her entire frame shaking.

“Now, now kunoichi. You should have known better than to come investigate all by yourself.” The masked man admonished.

“I—”

He held up a gloved hand. “There’s no need for explanations. But please, tell me. How is dear Sasuke doing? And the rest of your teammates? I’m aware that you have added one more to your ranks recently— that pink-haired medic.”

Karin said nothing, her fear rendering her mute in his presence.

“Now that won’t do,” Madara chastised. He circled her slowly, like a hunter stalking its prey. She wasn’t surprised when he suddenly took a fistful of her hair and reared her head back against him. A strangled cry erupted from her throat when his hold one her hair tightened, making her scalp burn.

“You’d better tell me what dear Sasuke is planning as we’ll be spending quite some time together in the foreseeable future.” Madara said before he turned his attention from her and looked towards one of the trees instead.

“Zetsu,” he called out. “Find Sasuke’s team. Make sure to play her part well.” There was a moment’s pause before a white figure suddenly split itself from the trunk and transformed before her eyes. A perfect rendition of herself looked back at her. Everything was identical, right down to the chakra signature.

“Yes, Madara.” It said in her voice before it took off into the forest, making its way back in the direction Karin had come.

Once the fake Karin was completely out of sight, Madara activated one of his space-time jutsu. The air before them warped until a wormhole was fully formed before them. He hauled Karin into the portal as he made his way through. “Come kunoichi, you and I have much to discuss.”

There was a shift in the air and then they were gone.

 

* * *

 

Sakura leaned back against the rock wall with an exhausted sigh. She’d been up to her elbows in blood, extracting and examining every single inch of the man she could get her hands on. It had been a tedious job, but she was glad to have done it. The amount of information she had gathered was astounding and the moment she caught her breath she would be more than glad to share the fruits of her labor.

The pink-haired girl winced slightly as the salve she spread on her hand stung. She’d been right in having Sasuke watch out for any traps that may have been implanted within the man. The moment she’d struck through the soft tissue of his stomach, the acid within immediately bubbled and caught part of her left hand. She’d been able to do away with it and heal her chemical burns, but there was a slight raw tinge that wouldn’t fully go away for a few more hours. After that there had been no other incidents and she was able to recover some information quickly despite the state her hand was in.

Now that she’d healed her hand, Sakura waited patiently for Sasuke and Suigetsu to return from disposing the body. Juugo had been charged with retrieving Karin. Soon they would congregate to discuss what Sakura had found. Surprisingly, Suigetsu and Sasuke were the first to return.

“Where are Juugo and Karin?” Sasuke asked.

“They’re not here yet. Funny though, I thought Juugo would return sooner since he left before you two did. I’m pretty sure Karin didn’t wander off too far.” Sakura replied as she stood. She took brisk strides over to the entrance of the grotto, green eyes searching for familiar chakra signatures. She found none.

“Where could she have gone off to?” she murmured.

Suddenly, a deafening roar filled the air followed by Karin flying out of the treeline. Her airborne figure crashed into a nearby tree. Juugo was hot on her trail, his body half-morphed as he came down upon her still form.

“Juugo!” Sakura yelled, her feet pushing her forward as she tried to get between the frenzied man and the unconscious redhead at his feet.

Sasuke was faster.

He appeared before Juugo, successfully stopping the man in his tracks. He said nothing as he bore his Sharingan into his gaze, returning the larger man back to his normal state before he collapsed onto the ground with his breathing coming in and out at irregular intervals. What Sasuke did next, Sakura was not prepared for.

Sasuke unsheathed Kusanagi, its blade glinting in the light of day before he brought it down with inhuman speed and deadly precision. He slit her throat effortlessly, his blade sheathed once more by the tie she started bleeding. Sakura made her way towards them, her eyes staring at Sasuke in disbelief. She was prepared to question his motive for needlessly killing his sensor when the redhead in question made her bite her tongue.

Karin’s red hair receded into her head, turning forest green in the process. Her eyes had gone from red to a faded gold, and her skin and all other features melted into a white expanse of nothing.

“A Zetsu? I could have sworn that it was her chakra.” Sakura muttered as she knelt before the dead creature.

“They’re notorious for being able to mimic every detail about the person they’re impersonating, right down to their chakra signature and patterns.” Juugo said after he’d caught his breath.

“Then how do we know if someone’s an impostor or not?” Sakura asked.

“They usually slip up. I knew it wasn’t the real Karin because one of the birds saw when it took her place.”

Suigetsu frowned. “Yeah that’d have alarm bells ringing in no time.”

“Ok, all of this aside. Where’s the real Karin?” Sakura pressed.

“We’re going to have to look for the pain in the ass.” Suigetsu muttered. “If she’s not dead, then she’s most likely been taken captive.”

Sakura frowned at his explanation. “Captive? I thought that these Zetsu were part of your lot.”

“What are you not telling me?” Sakura demanded, watching the way Juugo and Suigetsu shot each other uneasy glances. “Would anyone care to explain to men why we’re hiding from _both_ the Allied Forces and Akatsuki?”

“We’re avoiding them because there’s no other choice.” Sasuke said, making her whirl around to face him. “We’re being followed just as the Allied Forces are.

“Why?” Sakura pressed.

“Taka defected from Akatsuki nearly two weeks ago.”

Two weeks ago. That had to be around the same time when Juugo and Suigetsu had come across her wounded in the forest. Where they’d taken her to the cave and Juugo kept her alive. Where the rest of Taka had been waiting for Sasuke.

“Why?” Sakura asked once more as her heart began to hammer in her chest.

Sasuke watched her intently, his dark eyes impenetrable. “Because I’m going to kill Uchiha Madara.”


	8. Coalition, Pt. I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Thank you so much for your patience while I updated Storm. These past few months have been hectic for me. We also had two deaths in the family within three months of each other: my grandmother and her brother. It's been a trying time, but we're getting through it.
> 
> I want to give a big thank you to everyone for your comments and kudos. They are much appreciated. I hope you enjoy the chapter. The next one will hopefully soon follow!
> 
> xx LCF

Sakura was unable to sleep that night.

She tossed and turned in her sleeping bag for what felt like hours, plagued unease and a surprising sense of guilt. It was unexpected, but one that had still overcome her the moment the search for Karin had been called off. She knew the feeling was unwarranted—it was no secret that the two kunoichi were barely able to tolerate one another—but despite that, the guilt had clawed away at her little by little, until she was unable to sleep and remained plagued by thoughts of abandonment instead.

Because when it came down to it, that was exactly what they had done.

The remainder of Taka and she had looked for hours, using whatever resources that were readily available in their search. Juugo had had all of the creatures comb through the forest and keep an eye out while she and Suigetsu had scoured every inch of the forest floor for any sort of clue as to where she’d been taken. Sasuke had entrusted himself with aerial surveillance, but after several hours of fruitless flying, touched down to where the three had convened and deemed their search over.

Sakura had been genuinely surprised to hear him call it off so quickly, especially because as a sensor-type Karin was indispensable in their search for Danzou. It hadn’t made any sense, and yet she hadn’t questioned him on the matter.

What was wrong with her,  Sakura couldn’t help but wonder as she stared up at the ceiling of the cavern where they made camp. Had she fallen so far from her principles that she so readily abandoned whoever it was that needed help at the command of another?

_ Those who abandon their friends are worse than trash, but what if the one you abandon isn’t your friend? Is it still wrong? It feels like it. _

The kunoichi took a deep breath despite her growing restlessness, careful to keep her chakra signature regulated. She didn’t need a spike to alert her companions and wake them. She quite enjoyed the moments she could get to herself, no matter how guilt-ridden the thought process turned out to be.

_ What’s happened to me? _ She wondered silently as green eyes glanced out to the forest beyond their camp, subconsciously searching for the uchiwa fan that was sure to greet her sight. It wasn’t hard to find given that it was Sasuke’s turn to keep watch.

As she observed him, Sakura recalled his words to her when she’d demanded the truth of their situation. He claimed to want to kill Uchiha Madara, but for what reason she couldn’t begin to understand. Did he wish to take over Akatsuki? Had he grown tired of letting the other man pull all the strings and dictate his fate? She didn’t understand. Everything Sasuke had done since the night of the massacre had been for the sole purpose of getting his revenge. For the sole purpose of make his brother pay for his sins against their family— and he’d succeeded. He’d killed Itachi, but he never returned to Konoha and seeing him now after all this time, Sakura couldn’t help but think that despite his cold exterior, he was restless inside.

Killing his brother had done nothing to abate his anger.

In fact, Sakura would bet that ever since he’d fulfilled his goal, Sasuke had become aimless which would account for suddenly joining Akatsuki in the aftermath. The only question that remained was, why?

Why would he join the organization his brother was a part of if he despised everything about him?

Why would he attack the summit that had been held in Land of Iron?

Why was he so hellbent on letting himself drown in darkness?

Sakura was pulled out of her musings when she caught movement from the corner of her eye. She was unprepared to see the stitched emblem on his back disappear as Sasuke merged with the shadows of the forest beyond them. Frowning, she slowly sat up from her sleeping bag and felt along for his chakra signature. It was repressed, but not completely hidden and growing more faint as it continued to move further and further away from camp.

Sakura gave herself little time to think as she slid on her boots and tugged on a black long-sleeved top that would help her better blend into the shadows. She crept silently to the opening, careful not to rouse the remaining members of Taka before she darted into the forest after him. Her chakra signature vanished as she vaulted onto the nearest tree branch and followed the direction that Sasuke had taken off towards.

Surprisingly, it didn’t take as long as she expected to catch up with him, and once she did it was easy to see why. He had also changed from his regular attire. The wide collared shirt he typically wore now replaced by a black form-fitting one that was note unlike the what she currently wore. It seemed that Sasuke decided to head out into the night in search for answers of his own.

Sakura made to follow him when he took to the trees when the familiar sound of whistling metal pierced the air, forcing her to dodge as the incoming kunai lodged itself in the trunk of the tree where her head had been just seconds ago. Circling the area, she double-backed to avoid his barrage of attacks and was forced to deflect several with the tantō she’d strapped to her hip.

“Show yourself,” he ordered into the darkness as he searched for her.

She caught a glimpse of the Sharingan that penetrated the forest and knew she was in trouble when he quickly located her suppressed chakra signature and sent another wave of projectiles towards her with deadly accuracy. She bit back a curse when a shuriken grazed her arm where she’d been too slow to dodge.

_ Looks like there’s not much of an option _ , she thought sourly before she released the hold of her chakra and landed before him on the forest floor. There was a slight wariness in him when he caught sight of her, but Sakura was unable to dwell on the thought when he suddenly vanished, only to reappear before her with his chokutō in hand. She moved on reflexes alone when she parried his wrist with the butt of her still-drawn blade, effectively shoving his strike out of its projected course. Red eyes narrowed in her direction as she spun out of range, narrowly avoiding his blade when he thrust it forward instead with a flick of a wrist.

“You’re faster than before,” he commented as his red gaze remained glued to her. She circled him slowly, making sure to keep out of striking range.

“But not fast enough, apparently.” she replied before she motioned to the large diagonal slit on her shirt that exposed the mesh underneath. Sakura might have grown quick enough to avoid a direct strike, but her response to his lightning-fast speed still lacked.

Both remained still as they watched one another from their respective side of the forest floor. Sakura tensed when she saw the muscle in his arm contract slightly, coiled for an attack she was sure would come. But instead, Sasuke merely sheathed his blade before he charged forward in another burst of speed. He closed the distance before she could blink. Sakura tensed in surprise before she readied herself for the impact as he swung his heel to her temple. A gloved hand braced against her free arm blocked the approaching limb before his strike could make contact and with a surge of chakra, she quite literally swung him away from her. Sasuke flipped once before landing lithely, barely giving his feet a second on the ground before her surged towards her again.

“Your taijutsu has also improved.” He stated as he blocked a series of kicks that she was sure left his arm tender. Sakura frowned at his unnatural behavior as chakra flared around her fists before she dove toward him, intent on landing a punch to the sternum that would stun him for several moments.

Despite her improvement however, it was clear that Sasuke was still leagues beyond her level. After several harrowing moments of intense taijutsu combinations, he’d managed to catch her wrists and halt her onslaught. Clearly displeased, Sakura pumped more chakra to her legs. He narrowly avoided a sharp kick that would have left him quite incapable of restoring his clan had the blow connected. He tossed her an unimpressed look before avoiding yet another kick. In a surge of movement, he swept her feet from under her before she was able to catch her footing. He turned her body as she fell and shoved her face down onto the ground, her forearms pinned to the small of her back as he rested his knee across her legs.

“You fight underhandedly,” he said as Sakura tried to wriggle out of his fortified hold.

She tossed her hair away from her face as she looked over her shoulder at him pointedly. “Says the man who constantly uses his kekkei genkai to get the edge up on his opponent. Now, will you get off?”

He said nothing as he removed himself from her, allowing Sakura to hop back onto her feet in an instant.

“You were supposed to be asleep,” he pointed out dispassionately.

“And  _ you  _ were supposed to be on watch.” Sakura countered with the rise of a pink brow.

She knew she was effectively challenging him, but Sakura was curious to see if he would take the bait. He never had when they were children, and it seemed that he wasn’t going to now—especially not when she laid it out before him so obviously.

“Return to the others,” was all he said as he turned away from her to resume his travel.

“You know where Karin is, don’t you?” She asked, cutting right to the point and effectively halting him in his steps. Bottomless pools of ebony glanced over in her direction as she approached him. Sakura stopped when she stood several feet away, but neither ceased the impromptu staring contest. To break contact first would be to admit defeat, and that was something she wasn’t about to do. She refused to let him intimidate her and she would be relentless in her pursuit until she made him realize it.

“Take me with you.” she muttered, her voice cutting through the silent night.

It was a loaded statement, she knew. The fact that it was the last thing she asked of him before he left Konoha was not lost on her. It was an underhanded question and it undeniably brought up memories from long ago that had once left her feeling like her entire world had come crashing down. Sakura pursed her lips at the thought and wondered briefly if memories from that night also ran rampant through his mind at her words.

She highly doubted it.

She was completely unprepared when his voice filled the air with his assent, leaving her dumbstruck for a moment as she watched his retreating figure. He paused once more and looked over his shoulder to rest on her in an irritated manner. “If you hinder me, I will leave you.”

Sakura sent him an appraising look before she made her way over to his side, still not quite believing her ears. After all, this was Sasuke. Though she knew he had his reasons for this concession, Sakura knew that the want for her company was not one of them. There was a reason he had agreed to let her come along, all she had to do now was wait and see why. Once she had fallen into step with him, the two took to the trees and disappeared further into the night.

 

* * *

 

They had been traveling for several hours. The moon had long passed its apex and now fell westwards as it readied itself for the sun’s inevitable rise. It was early in the morning, around four if Sakura was correct in her estimation. The pair had traveled in silence as Sasuke remained quiet after their initial encounter in the woods, opting to lead the way and shut down her attempts to find out how he knew where to go with a blood-red glare. She’d kept her mouth shut after that if only to keep from starting an argument, but no matter how dirty a look he threw at her, she couldn’t dispel the thoughts that formed in her mind as she traveled alongside.

How was it that Sasuke knew where Karin had been taken to when both Juugo and Suigetsu hadn’t?

She was aware of the fact that Taka would know the location of Akatsuki’s main base, if not some other strongholds where Madara could have possibly taken Karin to, captive due to their three year allegiance to the organization. It had only been two weeks since their defection, and Sakura highly doubted that Akatsuki would have taken a moment to fortify any active bases from them. They were still at war after all, and Taka was not their only adversary. Seeing as neither Suigetsu nor Juugo knew of any remaining bases that were still in use within their area, Sakura deduced that where Sasuke was leading them to was a hideout only he had been privy to. That realization left her with more questions than answers.

Sakura was so deep in thought that she had run right past Sasuke as he stopped on the following branch. She was yanked back as his hand shot out and took hold of her arm and forcibly halted her. The next few seconds were too quickly for Sakura to fully comprehend.

In one moment she was being hauled back by Sasuke’s firm hold, and in the next he had released her in favor of cutting down a Zetsu that suddenly appeared before them. There was a large swarm of them, enough to be a small battalion and Sakura wondered how the hell she had managed to miss it in her stupor.

Cursing herself for getting caught up in her thoughts, Sakura narrowly avoided an incoming Zetsu. She swung her foot out in an arc, successfully connecting with its pale abdomen before she sent it crashing in to a pair that quickly approached. Her eyes were trained on the white creatures before her, while keeping an eye out for Sasuke. She caught sight of him on the forest floor, cutting through the large numbers that swarmed him. There had to have been at least twenty-five surrounding him, and all were out for his blood.

Punching her way through another white mass, Sakura leapt down onto the compact earth and unsheathed her tantō in the process. The medic managed to cut her way through to Sasuke, effectively hacking off a Zetsu’s arm and rendering it immobile with a vicious punch to its torso before it crept up behind him. Ruby eyes met hers once she returned to his side. He ran his blade through two more, his gaze projecting silently what needed to be done to her. Understanding dawned on her just as the two moved in sync. The pair stood back-to-back, creating a dual-edged offense while simultaneously becoming each other’s defense. A wave of nostalgia washed over her as her mind shifted between the scene before her and the memories of a similar situation that included a blond loudmouth and a porn-reading sensei. Sakura forced herself to get rid of the memories as she focused on the task at hand.

The oncoming assault of the Zetsu were endless, the clones relentless in their attacks as each one grew more wild and unpredictable than the last. As effective as taijutsu was for Sakura, it took an extremely concentrated effort on her part and wasn’t something she would be able to hold up forever, especially if she needed to conserve chakra for bigger battles that were sure to come if they managed to find Karin.

“Get out of the way!” she hollered as she gathered chakra in her right hand.

Sasuke wasted no time as he leapt in the air and landed on a nearby branch just as she began her assault. Taking note of the now lone target, most of the Zetsu swarmed towards her like moths to a flame. Once they entered her immediate vicinity, Sakura brought down her fist in a powerful punch, expelling all the compressed chakra upon contact and shattering the earth in one blow. A smug smile tugged at the ends of her lips when she saw the rubble swallow the Zetsu, taking note of the greatly-reduced numbers. Protruded limbs twitched noticeably within the debris of the sizable crater. Sasuke was by her side before the dust settled with an electric current running down the length of his chokutō. He leapt forward and cut through the remaining Zetsu with a speed she was barely able to follow. Once the last had fallen to the ground he looked over to her and met her gaze.

Sakura was going to ask what their next move should be when Sasuke suddenly sheathed his blade and closed the distance between them, pressing a firm hand over her mouth. His free arm encircled her waist as he jumped back to the treetops, taking her with him, before roughly shoving her against the trunk of the tree they landed on and hiding them in its pitch black shadow.

Green eyes glared at him incredulously as she readied a surge of chakra to break his hold on her. Sasuke’s Sharingan was fixed in a dangerous glare as he pressed his hand over her mouth further, the hand that had held her waist now moving to take hold of her wrists and locking them in an iron grasp. Sakura felt the tiniest flex of his chakra in the air around them as she caught sight of the tomoe in his bloodline begin to spin lazily. It was only when she felt the air shift that she realized that he had placed a genjutsu over them to keep from being detected.

Sakura’s mind ran a mile a minute as she tried to figure out why.

Her question was answered when she suddenly felt it— the incoming chakra signatures that were making a quick beeline towards them. It was large, too large to be one of Danzou’s Root squadrons, and too organized to be the Zetsu. Realization dawned in Sakura’s mind and she suddenly felt her heart thump wildly in her chest. Wide eyes glanced up at Sasuke who shot her a pointed look before he channeled more chakra into the genjutsu that currently hid them away.

She fought against his hold the closer they approached, the need to break free of his grasp filled her desperately. Sasuke was not gentle as he roughly shoved her back against the trunk of the tree, rendering her body immobile when he pressed against it with his own and effectively pinned her in place. The intimate nature of their current position was lost on Sakura as her eyes swept over his shoulder and landed on the Alliance shinobi that made their way through the forest a mere handful of yards away from where they were situated.

There were so many, all bearing different uniforms, speaking in different dialects, and travelling in different patterns. But all were the same, all were one as stated by the shinobi kanji etched upon their identical hitai-ate. They looked tired and battle-weary as they pressed on in their travel, and Sakura fought the urge to throw off the man atop her so she could render her aid to the ailing shinobi. Had Sakura been able to remain in Konoha, this could very well have been the platoon she was assigned to. They would have been her comrades in arms.

The thought made her choke on painful memories and the future that could have been… but wasn’t.

She watched as a handful of shinobi diverged from the others at the signal of their squad leader, splitting away and landing not too far from where Sakura and Sasuke were concealed. Sakura’s breath hitched in her throat, muffled beneath Sasuke’s oppressing hand as she caught sight of a familiar face— the first she had seen in many years aside from the man who stood before her.

Kiba was taller than her memory dictated, but just as fierce and wildly handsome in appearance as before. He wore the standard uniform assigned to chuunin in place of the leather ensemble she had last seen him in, the new hitai-ate tied proudly across his forehead. He gave a sharp whistle and was greeted by a sudden mass of white fur that erupted from the shrubbery on the forest floor as it climbed its way up the tree with unnatural ease. It took Sakura a quick second to realize that the beast was Akamaru.

His bark was deafeningly loud as he sniffed the air around them, his head suddenly rounding in their direction as he let out a low whine. Kiba’s own nose seemed to have perked up at whatever his ninken had communicated, sharp eyes landing directly on them as he fought to see through the genjutsu he was unaware was there. Sakura bit down on her lip as apprehension filled her at the sight of the Inuzuka investigating.

Sakura shifted beneath Sasuke, her wrists twisting in his hold as she dug her fingers into his hand, silently urged him to let go. She froze when he leaned forward and closed the scant inches between them as his breath ghosted over the shell of her ear, making the air on the back of her arms to stand on end. His voice, dark and full of warning, filled her ears.

“If you continue to challenge me I won’t hesitate to slaughter every single one of them, starting with the Inuzuka and his mutt.”

Sakura looked up sharply as Sasuke pulled back, staring into his scarlet irises as he regarded her steadily. They remained at a standstill, neither moving nor looking away from one another as they waited for the Allied shinobi to leave. It took only a few minutes before the captain called back Kiba and his familiar from their self-prompted search, ignoring his insistence in the matter.

“Inuzuka-san,” the captain called out. “Fall in so we can move out.”

Sakura carefully tore her eyes from Sasuke before she watched Kiba as he frowned at his taichou. His sharp eyes followed his keen sense of smell as he slowly began to make his way towards them. A sudden trickle of fear began to fill her at his approach. Sakura knew for a fact that if he or any of the other shinobi in his squadron discovered the genjutsu Sasuke had weaved that there would be no saving them. Sasuke would eliminate them for their discovery, especially since Sakura was sure he was a kill-on-sight opponent. He would kill them all without hesitation and he would do it before she could so much as lift a finger in their defense.

“Inuzuka!” barked the captain, breaking through Sakura’s troubled thoughts. “Get your ass back in formation so we can move out!”

Kiba rolled his eyes but followed orders nonetheless, much to Sakura’s relief. She watched as the platoon moved out swiftly, her hands still holding Sasuke’s subconsciously to keep him in place. As if it would be enough to hold him back should he change his mind about engaging them.

Once they were long out sight did Sakura release the pressure of her fingertips from the hand ensnaring her wrists. Anger bubbled to the surface in the wake of her friend’s safety. The two were alone in the deafening silence of the forest once again. Sasuke released the genjutsu as their chakra signatures disappeared completely into the distance. Red eyes faded to black as the air around them returned to normal. Sakura took the opportunity to snatch her wrists back before she swatted his other hand away from her mouth with a vicious glare.

“How  _ dare  _ you.” she seethed as she reached up and shoved him off her roughly, putting much needed distance between them. “How dare you threaten their lives to keep me in place! I could have gone with them. I could have returned to my friends, to my comrades. I could have seen them again!”

“You wouldn’t have been granted entrance to their camp regardless of the circumstance.” Sasuke deadpanned. “Danzou’s men would have taken you into custody and would have interrogated you for any information regarding Akatsuki’s movements.”

“I know nothing about—”

“You know far more than they do at the moment.” Sasuke cut her off abruptly. A dark scowl marred his face before it melted back into icy indifference. “No one knows of Taka’s defection. No one knows what I am planning, and it will remain that way. I want Madara and Danzou to suffer and die at my hand. I want to be the one to deal the final blow and watch them take their final breath. I will finish them and  _ no one  _ will take that right from me. Not even you.”

Sakura froze at his words as green eyes searched his cool disposition for the meaning behind his words. She found nothing, but knew that there was truth to them. Though she didn’t agree with him or his methods, she knew that Sasuke’s new goal could very well help her end the war and provide her the most opportune moment to return to Konoha. She didn’t have to fight his fights or pledge her allegiance to him. All she had to do was keep him alive.

Still, the anger that had filled her at his actions did not dissipate for the remainder of their resumed travel.

 

* * *

 

Sunrise did not come that morning. Instead, Sakura and Sasuke were greeted by dark waves of nearly-black clouds that became present during the last stretch of their journey. There was a thunderous rumbling in the distance and the smell of rain was thick in the air. It wouldn’t be long before the storm came down own them, Sakura mused. Not that mattered much as it seemed that they’d arrived to their destination as Sasuke’s pace began to slow.

Sakura paused warily behind him, unsure what to expect as she kept her eyes trained on Sasuke as he continued onward.

“Stay here,” he instructed. “I won’t be long.”

Before she could get a word out, he dropped down from the trees and into the open field that greeted them. He made several hand seals as he walked forward and promptly disappeared from sight.

Startled, Sakura sent out a wave of her chakra, acutely feeling out for his own. She didn’t locate him, but was surprised to find a faint pulsing of foreign chakra that had been spread out so thinly, she’d failed to take not of it as they had made their initial approach. There was little time to dwell on it however as she felt a notable shift in the air and saw Sasuke suddenly emerge from the genjutsu as he made his way towards her. The stronghold quickly materialized behind him like a mirage in the desert. She met him halfway, a frown set upon her features.

“You could have warned me about the genjutsu.” She said flatly.

“It’s only accessible if you have the Mangekyou,” Sasuke replied. “It would have alerted Madara immediately if anyone else had come upon it.”

“I see,” she said. “Do you know for a fact that Karin’s here? Or is there a possibility that he might have taken her somewhere else entirely?”

Sasuke gave her a long, calculating look. “There’s no guarantee, but it would be our best bet considering very few individuals can gain access. There are a series of traps and genjutsu weaved throughout the base.”

Sakura nodded. She highly doubted that Madara would have left this or any other of his abodes defenseless. “Then how do we go about this?”

“There’s absolutely nothing you can do.” came a third voice.

Sakura and Sasuke simultaneously turned towards the revealed entrance and came face-to-face with a woman with long blond hair and a Kumo headband. There was an unmistakable red cloak of malicious chakra surrounding her, and Sakura knew that they’d just come across a jinchuuriki. The cloak was unforgettable, and only someone with a bijuu sealed within them was able to don it. What Sakura wanted to know though, was why Madara would go through the trouble of replacing the bijuu in a reanimated corpse.

Mismatched eyes bore into them as the pair readied themselves for an attack.

“Madara has taken her to one of his many strongholds that litter the continent. The kunoichi you seek could be here, or she could be somewhere else entirely.”

“Why humor us, then?” Sasuke said, shifting his stance. A hand hovered over the hilt of his blade.

The kunoichi merely watched him. “He has very explicit instructions when it comes to dealing with you, Uchiha Sasuke.”

“And those would be?” Sasuke challenged as his dark eyes turned red.

“Eliminate on sight.” With those words she vanished, only to reappear behind him.

Sasuke managed to block her strike with his blade, but was pushed back by the sheer power of her blow. He leapt away and landed close to where Sakura stood.

“Don’t get too close to her,” Sakura warned as she watched the kunoichi’s languid approach. Memories of Naruto’s tail lashing out at her filled her mind. It had taken a long while for her arm to recover, even after her chakra healing. She’d sustained quite a bit of nerve damage that required several healing sessions and mandatory bedrest. “Avoid all hits if you can.”

“Aa.” Sasuke agreed as he kept his eyes trained on the blond woman. “Go find Karin.”

Sakura nodded before she bolted for the entrance.

 

* * *

 

Once Sakura vanished into the hideout, Sasuke unleashed  _ chidori nagashi _ as he rocketed forward and closed the distance between him and the kunoichi in a fraction of a second. He was nothing more than a dark blur surrounded by the screeching crackle of electricity.

The kunoichi met him blow-for-blow, her kunai clashing with his chokutō in a screech of metal against metal. A snarl filled the air as he navigated his chakra nature down the length of his blade, and cut through the kunai with relative ease. She released the useless weapon as she surged forward, feinted right, and struck at him from the left. With his Sharingan activated, Sasuke parried the attack easily but the force of the blow was enough to have him recoil and stagger back. He recovered his footing and managed to deflect several consecutive blows before he flickered away with a burst of chakra. Another of chakra and he was before her once more, Sharingan spinning rapidly.

The reanimated Kumo kunoichi lunged for him, the red cloak of her chakra lashing out at him in tandem. He evaded the attack easily, his mind formulating a sequence of attacks that would render her immobile as he tried to give Sakura some time to search the base and find Karin.

Genjutsu would not work considering she now possessed her own Sharingan and a Rinnegan. Taijutsu-only was also out of the question as the memory of the lariat the Eight-Tails had delivered him three years ago was still fresh on his mind. The pain of having his chest cavity literally blown apart when he’d wrongly assumed to have pulled the jinchuuriki under with his Mangekyou was not something Sasuke was eager to repeat. He would not commit the same mistake in underestimating the power of a jinchuuriki, especially one who had perfect control over their tailed beast. Given that the Two-Tails hailed from the same nation as the Eight-Tails, Sasuke safely deduced that she too had mastered her control. She had to in order to be shrouded in its malevolent chakra and not lose herself to the beast like Naruto had during their fight at the Valley of the End.

“You’d do best to pay attention!” she yelled as she suddenly appeared before him, delivering a powerful chakra-encased strike to his torso. He managed to block most of the blow, but his arms were burned by the chakra cloak that surrounded her.

Gritting his teeth, Sasuke swept his lightning-covered blade towards her, using his elemental chakra to boost his speed. The metal cleanly stabbed her right side, smoothly running through her until his blade was almost buried hilt-deep. Sasuke held on with both hands as he gave a violent twist and prepared to continue his paths inwards to sever her spinal cord, when her hands suddenly wrapped around the blade, keeping it firmly in place. A feral smirk spread across her lips.

“You’re a fool,” she chastised as she shoved the blade deeper and effectively pulled him closer. Her chakra seared into him as she used it to hold him in place. “And you will die because of it. But not before I take out the kunoichi first.”

Swirling tomoe swept over the blond’s head as they looked towards the entrance of the cave. He felt the rise of the kunoichi’s chakra before it slowly began splitting itself in half. Sasuke was locked within her grasp and watched as another kunoichi began to emerge from the original. A clone in the truest sense of the word. A surge of adrenaline shot through his veins as he watched the clone-kunoichi shoot him a look that was just as feral’s as the original’s.

“Let’s see how she fares when she comes face to face with the other half of Matatabi.” Yugito smirked before launching Sasuke away from her. He flipped neatly before landing in a crouch and managed to look up in time to see the other half of the tailed beast’s form snarling at him.

Despite himself, he could not ignore the microscopic seed of worry that ingrained itself in him at the fact that soon Sakura would have to deal with a demon cat of her own. Red eyes flashed as Sasuke brought forth his Mangekyou, his pinwheel designs spun furiously when the flaming cat charged.

There was little time to think as he fought, but that was the way Sasuke preferred.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't normally add a note at the end of the chapter, but my, was Sasuke handsy this go around XD


	9. Coalition, Pt. II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Hope you're all doing well! As usual, thanks to everyone who left a comment, kudos, and bookmarked Storm. It means a lot! I hope you enjoy the next chapter.
> 
> xx LCF

Rain fell heavily over base camp, though it didn’t seem to slow the hundreds of shinobi that occupied it in the slightest. They went about their business as usual; some reporting in to their posts as others were being relieved from duty. One shinobi in particular was making her way through the maze of tents, spurred with a visible sense of urgency that reflected in her hurried gait.

Hinata was quick on her way over, nearly crashing into several of her comrades in her haste. She made her way to Naruto’s tent easily enough, having distinguished it from the others long ago through her countless visits. The flaps that were normally open to allow air to circulate were left closed, most likely due to the weather, and as she neared his temporary home she felt a wave of nervousness wash over her. She wouldn’t have much time to visit today. She was supposed to meet up with her squad in twenty minutes at the north gate to begin rounds and probably wouldn’t be back until past nightfall.

Caught up in her musings, Hinata barely managed to stop short of her usual entrance when she caught the foreign chakra signatures within the tent. Unsure of entering since Naruto had company, the Hyuuga heiress fidgeted slightly with the hem of her flak jacket.

“It’s alright Hinata, you can come in.” came Kakashi’s muted voice. She visibly relaxed at her captain’s quiet invitation and didn’t hesitate to enter.

Pushing aside the thick material of the canvas flap, Hinata stepped inside and froze at the sight before her. Pearly orbs took in the three men that currently occupied the tent, her vision clouded over as tears suddenly welled in her eyes. She immediately looked to Naruto, who she was finally able to see following his forced segregation, and whose resounding grin caused her to explode into soft, teary giggles as he nodded over to the strappy brunette standing beside Kakashi.

“Kiba-kun!” she exclaimed before she ran to give her teammate a hug.

“Hey Hinata, long time no see.” He laughed as he returned the embrace with just as much fervor.

Hinata released him after a moment, smiling brightly at her friend before she turned to Naruto. Relief washed over her at the sight of his beautiful cobalt eyes, and she didn’t hesitate for a second before she rushed over and embraced him with all her might. A sob of relief escaped her, punctuated by Naruto’s warm hand as he rubbed her back soothingly.

“I’m sorry, Hinata. I didn’t mean to worry you.” He muttered. Hinata shook her head fervently, feeling the patches of his scraggly facial hair comb through her crown. He hadn’t shaved yet.

“There’s no need to apologize. I’m just glad you’re safe.” She whispered in return before she clutched him closer to her still. 

A quiet cough brought them out of their little world, and the two righted themselves before they set their sights on Kakashi. “While I’m also glad that we found you relatively safe and sound, I’m afraid I come bearing bad news.”

Hinata didn’t miss the way Naruto’s eyes narrowed at his sensei.

“While segregating you from the rest of the company was my choice,” Kakashi started. “Danzou felt that it wasn’t enough.”

Naruto frowned. “Oh yeah? Then let’s get this over with, Kakashi-sensei. I can handle whatever crap punishment the old goat throws my way!”

At his words, their taichou frowned severely, making Hinata wince despite not being its intended recipient. “I already told you, Naruto. This isn’t a game, and getting on Danzou’s bad side will have terrible repercussions for all of us. As it stands, in light of you abandoning your post, the Hokage has relinquished your rights to go out on any patrols or to the frontlines effective immediately.”

“That’s bullshit!” Naruto cried, tensing beneath Hinata’s embrace. The Hyuuga only held onto him tighter.

“You abandoned your post to go after Sasuke, who despite being someone precious to you, is still and internationally-wanted criminal after attacking the kage summit. Not to mention his attempt at taking Killer B on Akatsuki’s orders.”

“Wait, you saw Uchiha?” Kiba questioned, his brow furrowed in thought.

Hinata watched as Naruto pulled his steely gaze from Kakashi before giving Kiba a stiff nod. “Yeah. I felt him when I was on watch two weeks ago and I took off. Usually he’s with the rest of his group, but he was alone this time and I figured it would be my best opportunity to get to him to pull his head out of his ass.”

Kakashi sighed, already aware of how this conversation was going to end. “Naruto, you know that Sasuke can’t be reasoned with now. We saw that years ago when he nearly took his teammate’s life.”

Kiba interrupted before Naruto could respond, for which Hinata was grateful. Her friend ignored her loved one’s glare as he turned to face their division leader.

“Actually, Sasuke is the reason I came to look for you and Naruto, Kakashi-taichou. Before our arrival to base, my platoon and several others split off from our division and we stumbled upon some freshly killed Zetsu. They couldn’t have been dead for more than fifteen minutes, but the weirdest thing about it were the scents Akamaru picked up.”

Kiba took a readying breath as he met Kakashi and Naruto’s expectant gazes. “It was definitely Sasuke, but we couldn’t pinpoint exactly where it came from or where he’d gone to. He must have used some teleportation jutsu to leave before we arrived, but he’d definitely been there.”

“I told you he switched sides!” Naruto exclaimed with a triumphant grin, his previous anger seemingly forgotten as he looked to Kakashi. “And now he’s fighting against Madara, too. We need to get him to come fight with us so we can end this damn war for once and for all and go home!”

Kakashi ignored his outburst as he faced Kiba. “What I want to know is why you hadn’t reported this to your commanding officer.”

Naruto’s smile vanished as he looked at his sensei incredulously and Hinata winced in sympathy. Everyone knew that Sasuke was kill-on-sight. It was among the first declarations Danzou made since his ascent to Hokage, and much to Naruto’s bitter disappointment, it was a notion backed by the other kage.

Kiba shook his head. “There was another factor involved that I didn’t know what to make of. And even though I don’t get why, I know Sasuke still means a lot to you. I feel like you guys, of all people, deserve to know when Sasuke’s been on the move. Anyway, the biggest reason I didn’t say anything then was because there was someone with him, though Akamaru and I weren’t able to make out where they’d disappeared to either.”

Kakashi nodded. “Aside from Naruto's most recent encounter, Sasuke typically tends to travel with the members of his team.”

“No, that’s not it. We know their scents, we were ordered to memorize each of them, but this one was different. It was  _ familiar _ .”

Both Kakashi and Naruto froze as Kiba’s implication sank in. Hinata’s arms fell away from her embrace, but she remained by his side as he interlaced his fingers with her own. Naruto squeezed her hand tightly as a faint tremor ran through him.

_ Oh, Naruto-kun… _

When he spoke, his voice was uncharacteristically low.

“What are you saying, Kiba?”

“I wasn’t sure at first, the oncoming storm and jutsu Sasuke used made discerning it tricky, also the fact that it’s changed with age.”

“Kiba,” Naruto’s tone turned serious. “ _ Who was it? _ ”

Both men stared at each other evenly from their spots in the tent until finally, after a second that seemed to last years, Kiba spoke.

“It was Sakura.”

Naruto let go of her hand and surged forward in an instant.

“Are you sure? There’s no possible way you can be wrong?” Kakashi asked in a serious tone.

“I’m ninety-nine point eight percent sure, taichou. Like I said, it’s different, which is a given considering the time not spent around her, but the undertones are the same, just matured.”

Naruto seemed just about ready to storm out of his tent, but stopped when Hinata took hold of his hand again. She pulled him back gently, her eyes begging him not to act with reckless abandon. He looked at her for a moment, obviously torn, and Hinata worried he would shrug her off and go after his precious people anyway, but then his shoulders sagged as he gave her a weary nod.

“I know you want to go to them, Naruto-kun, but please think clearly. If you purposely go against orders, that gives Danzou-sama the best reason to remove you from the battlefront altogether.” she implored, hoping he didn’t hate her for not wanting him to go running after his teammates. Not when things were hanging by a mere thread for him.

“Hinata’s right,” Kakashi agreed. “Danzou obviously has no problem withdrawing you from the war, but if you keep this up, he’s prepared to have your chakra sealed and throw you into a cell for insubordination. He’ll go especially hard on you since you’re one of the two remaining jinchuuriki that Madara hasn’t been able to get his hands on. He’ll use it as an excuse to keep you away from the action, which means that your chances of coming across Sasuke or Sakura will go from slim to none. You’ll be of no help to anyone if you’re locked away.”

Kakashi’s words seemed to have their intended effect as Naruto gave a resigned nod before he took a seat on his bed, taking Hinata with him. He exhaled loudly, obviously displeased but doing his best to contain it.

“I don’t like it.” he finally rasped.

“Neither do I,” Kakashi returned. “But we have to do what we can. Just because we can’t be actively out there looking for them doesn’t mean that there aren’t others who might have an opportunity to do so. I’m going to see if I can get a message out to Sai and ask for his help. He hasn’t been able to join us much considering Danzou’s got Root working on his own operations, but I know he’d be willing to do what he could to help find Sakura.”

“And Akamaru and I will keep a nose out for her too!” Kiba piped in, not wanting to be forgotten.

“I’ll also be looking,” Hinata said. “I only have a few more minutes before I have to go for patrol, but I’ll be watching.”

“Thank you, Hinata.” Naruto said, blue eyes earnest. The two shared a long look that made her smile before ducking her head shyly. “You too Kiba, you don’t have to do this either.”

Kiba snorted. “Hey, it’s not like you and Sai were the only ones upset with Sakura’s disappearance. Ino was in tears for weeks, and Lee still has his moments. We were all upset. Hell, even Neji was more uptight than usual. Once business is finished up here, my platoon is heading over to Fourth Division’s base camp. I’m sure a few of our friends will be more than willing to keep an eye out for some pink hair.”

Hinata’s heart soared at her teammates words. She’d forever be grateful to him for helping Naruto remain calm and show him that he wasn’t alone. Naruto himself couldn’t help but crack a small grin at his words, though Hinata was sure that he was still upset that he wouldn’t be able to go out and look for them himself. Still, Kakashi-taichou had a point. Naruto had a penchant for running into Sasuke despite the odds, something that had become more frequent since the beginning of the war. There would be plenty of more opportunities.

With that, Hinata stood and announced her leave to go on patrol. She blushed darkly when Naruto gathered her up in his embrace and kissed her deeply, uncaring of their audience. From beyond the sound of her heartbeat thundering in her ears, Hinata could hear Kiba grumble about lovesick couples making  _ him _ sick.

From the way Naruto’s lips quirked against her own, she was sure he’d heard it too.

 

* * *

 

The air was disturbingly still.

It felt stale, as though the base hadn’t been properly ventilated in a very long time. In reality it should have been the first thing to tip off Sakura that something wasn’t quite right. None of the traps Sasuke had warned her of seemed to be activated, making Sakura delve deeper into the stronghold to continue her search.

Sakura continued to walk along the dark corridor before she rounded the next corner, careful to keep note of the path she’d been taking. The last thing she needed was to get lost inside the stone maze while Sasuke kept the jinchuuriki occupied.

A fork in the tunnel came up, and just as she started to dispel her chakra in search for any life, Sakura felt a sudden surge of power creep up behind her. She whirled around, her own chakra suddenly on edge as she tried to feel where the malevolent energy came from, but was unable to pinpoint the exact direction. The chakra surge that fluctuated was thick in the air, but she still couldn’t find its origin.

“Hello?” she called out as she peered into the darkness. The only response she received was deafening silence before she was suddenly struck by a driving hit to the chin.

Sakura sailed through the air as Yugito’s strike hit its target. She skidded to a halt, unable to catch her bearings before the blond jinchuuriki closed in. Yugito reached her a mere second later and lifted her up with unnatural ease. Sakura cried out as she was hurled against the stone wall and landed on the ground in a heap. The jinchuuriki approached her again, and it was only by sheer force of will that Sakura managed to roll out of the way before the blond kunoichi could land another blow.

She got to her feet quickly, surging chakra through her arms as she began to exchange blows with the reanimated kunoichi. Sakura braced herself as Yugito rushed her once more, and released the build-up of chakra through her arms as she landed a direct hit to her chest just as the jinchuuriki was about to strike. The blond woman hit the opposite end of the corridor with a sickening blast, her body going clear through the stone wall and into another area of the base.

Sakura watched warily as undead jinchuuriki extracted herself from the rubble, taking note of the difference in her appearance from the shinobi she’d faced just moments ago. Instead of retaining the form of its vessel, it seemed that the Two-Tails had managed to achieve a partial transformation. Yugito’s new burst of speed was frighteningly quick, coupled with her newfound claws. And though she hadn’t tried tried to perform any jutsu up until then, Sakura figured it would be best to keep as much distance between them as possible.

“Where is Sasuke?” she asked as she kept a close eye on the reanimated kunoichi’s movements.

A feral smirk spread across her painted lips. “He’s preoccupied at the moment. It seems that the other half of Nekomata is keeping him quite busy.” Her words were punctuated by a thunderous bang that caused the entire cavern to tremor dangerously before rocks and dirt rained down on them.

There was something about Yugito’s smug appearance, like the cat that caught the canary, that made Sakura come upon a steadily growing realization.

“Karin’s not here.”

The other kunoichi smiled condescendingly. “Bravo. I was beginning to wonder when you’d get the hint. Tell me, what gave it away?”

Sakura ignored her question. “What’s Madara plotting? Is this his attempt to capture Sasuke?”

The blond woman snorted in contempt. “No, this is his attempt at getting rid of  _ you _ . He’s not pleased that you and his pawn have teamed up.”

Pink brows furrowed in confusion. The need to weaken Sasuke since he’d turned against Akatsuki was understandable, but to not want  _ her  _ working with him? She was surprised to hear Madara even knew of her existence. Compared to the last Uchiha and being the jinchuuriki of the most powerful bijuu, Sakura was painfully aware of her insignificance in the grand scheme of things.

It made no sense, and Sakura found that when one question was answered, two more popped up in its place. This was something only Sasuke could clear up for her, and that was if he even  _ wanted  _ to, but it was a chance she was willing to take. She was tired of being in the dark.

Sakura snapped out of her musings as Yugito charged her once more, claws extended and aimed for her jugular. Having lost the element of surprise, Sakura was successful in evading her swipe this time around before counter-attacking with a backhand fist. She managed to knock the other kunoichi off-kilter for just a second before the blond righted herself and charged with a newfound sense of anger. With a burst of chakra, Yugito vanished and reappeared behind Sakura in a fraction of a second.

A cry of pain escaped her as agony suddenly burst through her spine, causing her to drop to her knees on reflex. The older kunoichi wasted no time before she grabbed her roughly by the hair and tossed Sakura several meters down the corridor as though she were nothing more than a rag doll. Sakura tried her best to ignore the pain that came with every move she made as she fought to stand, but was unable to do so as the blond approached her quickly. In a last ditch effort to buy herself some time, Sakura unsheathed her tantō and launched it at the jinchuuriki, hitting her mark as the blade pierced her through the shoulder and effectively pinned her to the wall.

Yugito hissed in displeasure before she harshly pulled out the blade, unaware of the explosive tag Sakura had wrapped around its handle until it was too late. The subsequent explosion that rocked the corridor sent Sakura flying back. Stars exploded in her vision and her ears rang something fierce as she tried to get her bearings.

When the dust settled, the jinchuuriki was already regenerating and making her way towards her. By the time she reached Sakura’s unsteady form, most of her body had returned to its normal state. She lifted her back leg overhead in a wide arc before she brought it down in a powerful axe kick. Giving up all pretense at getting to her feet, Sakura quickly gathered chakra to her hands and managed to catch the kick before it shattered her sternum. She struggled beneath the force the jinchuuriki drove into her attack for several moments.

Just as her arms were about to give out, a familiar piercing shriek reached her ears just as pale blue light filled the corridor. She looked up to see a lightning-covered hand obliterate Yugito’s skull. The semi-decapitated form fell beside Sakura lifelessly, revealing Sasuke’s offensive stance.

Sakura could only stare, stunned at his arrival. He ignored her look of surprise as he kept his eyes on the dead body beside her. It was already starting to regenerate.

“Are you alright?”

Pulling herself from her stupor, managed a weak nod. “I’ll be fine in a minute. She managed to get a few good hits in before you got here.” Sakura grimaced as she started to guide her healing chakra to her injuries. She concentrated her efforts on her skull and back.

“We don’t have a minute. Keep as much pain at bay as you can, we need to move now.” Sasuke instructed.

He didn’t wait for a reply before he reached down and plucked her from the ground. A fresh wave of pain coursed through Sakura at being jostled, but she refrained from crying out. Sasuke’s chakra pulsed around them, and a second later Sakura found herself outside of the abandoned hideout before her set her down. She spied what appeared to be the other half of the Two-Tails as it slowly began to regenerate from its mutilated form.

Sasuke made an irritated sound, successfully pulling her attention away from the reforming jinchuuriki before his hands ran through familiar seals and summoned forth a large hawk. He took hold of her once more as he leapt onto its back. They were airborne in seconds and rising quickly.

As they cleared the forest canopy, a feral snarl came from below before several large balls of fire were sent in their direction. The hawk avoided the blasts easily enough as it continued to gain altitude, which served to enrage the blazing cat below further. After ascending a bit more, the hawk paid the threat no mind as they had flown too far out of its range.

Sakura let out a sigh of relief as she laid back and felt the soft plumage of the bird caress her skin. There was little comfort due to her injuries, but she couldn’t find it in her to care. At least she’d managed to numb the throbbing headache she had with a painkiller. Her hands flared green as she promptly set to work on healing the absolute worst of her injuries, stopping only when they were set properly and beginning to mend. Yugito’s kick to her back had been as fierce as the rest of her, and had it hit Sakura the way she’d intended, Sakura would have remained paralyzed from the waist down. Severe spinal fractures tended to do that. She healed her spinal injury in one go, making sure to not waste any chakra or else she’d remain a sitting duck should they be attacked again. When she finished, her back still ached, but she was pleased that the throbbing had subsided completely.

Looking over at Sasuke, Sakura immediately noticed that he seemed to hunch forward somewhat as he knelt, his arm wrapped protectively over the right side of his ribcage. Blood peeked between the gaps of his fingers as he covered his injury.

“You’re hurt.” Sakura realized as she started to make her way over.

“It’s nothing,” Sasuke bit back, his tone harsh enough to make her falter. Pale pink brows knit together in frustration.

“You asked me to join you under the guise of keeping you alive—”

“Do I look like I’m dying?” he snapped as he glared at her frozen stature.

Anger flared up in her, and coupled with the stress of the past several hours, Sakura had reached the end of her patience. He had made her join him under the guise of being his medic so she would _be his medic_.

Without warning, Sakura closed the distance between them and pulled his hand away none-too-gently from the injury. He hissed under his breath at her rough handling and looked at her with eyes full of scorn, but did nothing to keep her from examining him. Carefully, Sakura eased him back so she could pull up the hem of his shirt. It looked like Yugito managed to get in a good hit before she was blow to smithereens. The edges of the slash was messy and had the taint of the bijuu’s chakra.

The injury was deep, but not life-threatening. The only thing that worried Sakura was the amount of time he’d need to properly recuperate. Even now as Sakura swept her healing chakra through him, she could feel the malevolent one of the Nibi fighting her at every turn. If her personal experience with healing bijuu-related injuries was anything to go by, then it was safe to say that it would take a little time and several healing sessions before Sasuke returned to full strength.

Sakura continued working silently as she healed what she could with what chakra was available to her. Sasuke’s pained breaths relaxed as she dulled the pain, though he remained conscious. He watched her idly through bleary eyes; his languor obvious given the amount of blood lost. Green eyes swept over to meet his momentarily and was surprised by the tumultuous storm that brewed in their depths. She tore her gaze away and focused on the injury at hand with a renewed concentrated effort.

As Sakura wrapped up her first healing session (already the injury looked much better and the bleeding had finally stopped), they flew for a few more minutes. It wasn’t long before the hawk began to make its descent and they touched down between a small copse of trees. Once they got down, the hawk promptly bowed its head to Sasuke before returning to its dimension with an almost inaudible  _ pop _ . From where they’d landed, Sakura could see just past the thinning tree line towards the entrance of their camp.

She wiped her sweaty forehead with the back of her hand, and just as she stepped forward, Sakura was tackled by Sasuke’s sudden weight as he pitched forward. Her arms shot out to steady him, her eyes closing in on the injury he clutched.

“Hold on, Sasuke.” Sakura murmured. She ignored his mild protests as she picked him up with ease and started towards their campsite in a sprint.

As she approached, Suigetsu stepped out of the shadows, his face contorted in irritation. “Where the hell have you—”

“Not now,” Sakura snapped before she walked inside with him hot on her heels. Juugo was on his feet the second his eyes landed on her and Sasuke.

“What happened?” he asked as he led her over to an empty bedroll for her to lay him down on. Sakura lowered him down gently, keeping one hand firmly pressed on the injury to prevent it from reopening.

“Juugo can you get out a roll of bandages and antiseptic paste from my medic pouch?” She asked as she summoned what little chakra she had left to heal his injury some more. It didn’t have to be much, but she wanted to be absolutely certain that the wound was closed. The last thing she needed was for Sasuke to get an infection or overexert himself some way and start bleeding once again.

While Juugo did as asked, Sakura’s chakra began to fizzle out. Deciding it was pointless to continue in this state, Sakura stopped her healing and took the time to examine the wound. While it was still relatively raw, the first layer of flesh had been completely healed. She took great care to spread the salve on Sasuke’s injury once Juugo returned with them in hand. When she was done with that, she had the large man prop him up so she could wrap the bandage around his torso snugly, keeping what little she’d healed sealed tight. Once done, Juugo gently laid him back down on the ground.

Sasuke’s gaze had been glued to her throughout the entire process, though they were glazed over in pain and fatigue.

“Rest,” Sakura instructed when she finally met his eyes. “It’s going to take some time for you to get back into fighting shape. The bijuu’s chakra is making it difficult to heal in one session, thankfully they didn’t hit anything vital. Once you’re all healed up we can continue the search for Karin.”

“We ceased the search...for Karin.” Sasuke got out as he took shallow breaths.

Sakura was prepared to call him out on that. The snarky retort was on the tip of her tongue, ready to give him a good verbal lashing on hypocrisy when the world suddenly tilted on its axis. Shouts of surprise filled the air as she slumped forward, the hands that steadied her were the only things that kept her from collapsing over Sasuke’s prone form. She felt the air shift around her and Sakura belatedly realized she was being carried.

“Easy does it, Kitten.” Suigetsu crooned in her ear before he readjusted his grip. “Man, you’re a lot heavier than you look.”

Despite his words, he deposited her safely back to her bedroll without much fuss. He passed her a water canteen. Sakura took it gratefully and took careful sips. Once the dizziness had subsided, Sakura peered over to find Sasuke sleeping and Juugo and Suigetsu going about their business.

“I don’t understand why he called it off.” she thought aloud. The two conscious men looked over to her as she frowned pensively.

“It’s no use arguing.” Suigetsu supplied as he polished his blade. “Once Sasuke’s made up his mind about something, that’s the end of it.”

“If that were the case then could you explain to me how I woke up to him sneaking out alone in order to keep looking for Karin?” Sakura shot back.

The former Mist-nin frowned. “Is that where you guys had gone?”

Sakura nodded. “I was up and caught him leaving, so I followed him until he confronted me. After that we spent the rest of the night tracking her down to an old hideout. It was going pretty well up until we were attacked by the Two-Tails’ reanimated jinchuuriki and forced to retreat. Turns out in the end it was a wild goose chase and a failed attempt of Madara’s to stop us.”

“If Madara is so dead-set against us continuing our search for the old geezer then we must be doing something right.” Suigetsu hummed thoughtfully.

“But why would Madara be against Sasuke eliminating Danzou?” Juugo asked.

At his question, Sakura frowned pensively. She wasn’t sure if it was wise to bring up what Yugito had said about Madara being against her joining Sasuke. It was something she’d hoped to bring up and discuss with her former teammate once he was well enough to talk, though her chances of actually getting some answers remained bleak. She had so many questions and she wasn’t sure if they’d even be acknowledged.

“I don’t know,” she piped up at last. “I just know he’s playing at something, and probably has some sort of plan up his sleeve that might have to do with Danzou’s role in the war.”

“Yeah but he’s not really an active part in it, is he?” Suigetsu said. “He hasn’t been on the frontlines since this whole damn thing started three years ago. From what we’ve gathered, he’s been hiding away in some stronghold or other with his Root agents and barking out orders.”

Fury filled her at his words. How dare the man who’d made an attempt on her Shishou’s life to retain her title not be part of the fight for the village he claimed to want to protect?

“He’s nothing but a warmonger and a coward.” Sakura bit out.

Both men turned to look at her, surprised by the vitriol in her tone. She was aware that they knew she was from Konoha and Sasuke’s old teammate, but what they didn’t know was the reason behind her being on the run despite how much she still loved her village and those she left behind. Green eyes fell over both of them as they studied her quietly.

“He sent out a couple of his agents to assassinate the Godaime while she was still recovering from Pain’s attack.” She explained. “I wasn’t going to let them, so I killed the few I could and caused enough of a ruckus to have them tail me and bring to light what they were doing. I led them as far from her as I could, but they’d gotten a few good hits in and by the time I reached the coastline, I was too far gone from the poison to put up a decent fight. So I jumped from the cliffs to evade capture. I’ve been on the run ever since, but I have to admit that the number of Root sent after me has steadily declined once the war started. I’ve tried to keep my head low and never stay anywhere for too long. I was actually leaving Lightning Country when I ran across you guys.”

“Hold on,” Suigetsu jumped in. “You’re telling me that Danzou plotted to have the Godaime, who was your master, assassinated. You interfered and managed to draw Root away from their target, which got you cornered so you chose to flee and thus marked as a missing-nin.”

“Badass.” he exclaimed with a toothy smirk. Sakura merely rolled her eyes before she turned her attention to Sasuke’s sleeping form. Despite his injuries, his breath came in slow and even and there were no signs of stress or internal hemorrhaging.

“You are a far more capable medic than you had us believe if you are the Godaime’s apprentice.” Juugo intoned quietly. “Tsunade-hime is renowned around the world for her prowess in medical ninjutsu.”

“I am, and I’m sorry for not being forthcoming with that fact. I guess it’s just a habit now to water down techniques and constantly changing my appearance to keep from getting recognized.”

Suigetsu waved her off. “It’s what you’ve gotta do to keep under the radar. No one here’ll begrudge you doing what you have to for your survival. Though, I do think it’s rather pointless now since you’ve teamed up with Sasuke. He tends to draw attention whether he wants it or not.”

A sudden picture of a dozen flustered schoolgirls surrounding the stoic Uchiha as he sat at his desk came to mind, causing Sakura to chuckle. If he’d been popular then as a barely pubescent boy, she wondered just how many girls fell over themselves for his attention now that he was practically a man.

The conversation turned to random subjects after that, and before long the promised rain finally made its appearance just as darkness fell. Suigetsu volunteered to take first watch, claiming the rain invigorated him, as Juugo began to prepare dinner. Feeling better now that she’d rested a bit, Sakura had gotten up and made her way over to Sasuke to check over his injuries.

As she examined him, worry filled her despite her anger from earlier. He’d been reckless today, exceedingly so considering that the whole point of her being here was to heal him. Why he’d initially refused to be tended to, Sakura wasn’t sure. All she knew was that his stupidity could have cost him far more than blood loss and unnecessary pain. Now they were forced to wait until he recuperated before being able to move on, but as angry as she had been, all this impromptu ‘mission’ had done was solidify the fact that Sasuke wasn’t someone she’d stopped caring about despite her self-imposed exile. A fresh wave of frustration rose at the thought.

How could she still fathom to care for him after all he’d done?

He had turned his back on Team Seven, on Konoha—even after his revenge had been obtained—and instead set himself to go down a further path that he had no business being on. Sakura wasn’t stupid, she knew that there was more than met the eye, and there was a part of her that wanted to dig and figure out just what that was while another part of her wanted to keep him at a distance.

And yet despite all her misgivings, once the excitement of the past twelve hours died down, Sakura couldn’t help but recall the weight of his body as he pinned her against the tree or how his hot breath ghosted over the shell of her ear when he spoke. Or even the way his hand had encircled her waist before he effortlessly spirited her away. Irritation radiated through her at the unbidden memories.

_ Damn you, Sasuke. _ She mentally cursed from her perch at his side.  _ And damn me for letting myself feel that way. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we've got Naruto and company, plus a deadly meeting with the Two-Tails and Yugito, along with Sakura reflecting and revealing that she wasn't quite as unaffected by all that proximity as we initially believed. (But it's Sasuke, so can you blame her? XD)
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Please feel free to leave me your thoughts. Until next time!
> 
> xx LCF


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